Betrayal
by Voyevoda3203
Summary: PART TWO UP!!! Wow, I haven't wrote anything in the longest. If you liked the first part then I think you'll like the second part. 3rd part coming whenever.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or the characters, but I do own the story, so there. :P

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"Tai!" I called. I ran with all my strength. I didn't know where I was or where I was going, but I knew that I needed Tai. I needed his strength to help me. 

"Tai!" I called again. I ran into an alley, hoping to find him there. No such luck. I didn't know where I was. I wasn't the digital world and this place wasn't anything like the dimension that I was taken to. This place seemed so real. So vivid. There were buildings and there were houses everywhere, cars parked in the driveways and bikes parked along the side of a few houses. But the strange thing is that there were no people around. Usually there were people walking up and down the streets, but it was eerily deserted.

"Kari!" a voice called, piercing the quiet sky. I spun around.. It was a very familiar voice.

"Kari!" the voice called again. 

"Gatomon!" I gasped, relieved. I smiled as I looked at her and wiped my forehead relieved. Now I wasn't alone anymore in this place. 

"Kari, come here," Gatomon said quite strangely. 

I stopped smiling and stared at Gatomon. She looked different. "Gatmon, are you alright? You look strange." 

"Yes, Kari. I am fine. Now will you come here?" 

Slowly, I walked towards Gatomon. She had turned her back to me and she held her head down. She looked....evil in a way. 

"Yes, Gatomon?" I asked when I got closer. I was in arms reach. I touched her shoulder and turned her around. 

Suddenly, she whipped around. "Lightning claw!" she yelled. She swiped me with her long claws and I fell back to the ground surprised. Why would Gatomon attack me? 

"Cat's Hypnotism!" she retreated. I closed my eyes. 

"Gatomon! Why are you doing this?" I shouted, hugging myself. 

After a moment, I opened my eyes and looked over at her. Her own eyes were an eerie red that glowed in the darkness. I glanced down at her neck. The whistle I gave her was gone and it was replaced with a dark ring.

"Oh, no!" I gasped. I stood up from the ground. Then I slumped back down. Her Lightning Claw attack must've done more damage than I thought as pain seared through my chest. I could barely breathe. 

Gatomon walked slowly closer to me, taking long deliberate steps.

"Stop this!" I pleaded. I held my chest as I struggled to breathe correctly. "Why are you doing this?" I grasped my digivice, hoping that it would bring me some help. 

Then out of the shadows came Davis and Veemon. 

"Davis!" I called happy that someone was here to save me. "Help me!" 

Davis lifted his head and just laughed. Not one of his usual silly boyish laughs. This one was evil. Veemon glared at me from next to Davis. I looked in horror as both of their eyes were glowing red the same way Gatomons was. 

I gasped as T.K. and Patomon, Yolei and Hawkmon, and Codi and Armadillomon came out from the shadows too. They all possessed the same evil that Gatomon held within her. 

They all walked closer to me, all chanting the same thing over and over. "Hail the Digimon Emperor. Hail the Digimon Emperor." 

"Vee-Head butt!" Veemon suddenly cried. He charged at me, aiming at my skull. 

I cried out and closed my eyes, waiting for the impact, but it never came. I waited for a second and peeled open my eyes as I felt a breeze flutter through my hair. Then I looked down. I was high in the sky, flying at speeds that frightened me. I looked up and saw that it was Stingmon that came to my rescue. In his other hand I saw Ken. He smiled at me and I realized that I was alright. 

I smiled back. Then Ken looked at me once again, a strange look in his eyes. 

"Stingmon," he ordered. "Drop her." 

"No!" I cried out as Stingmon released his tight grip from me and I went plummeting back down to the earth. 

"Tai!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

"Kari! Kari! Stop screaming already and wake up!" 

I felt a hard push on the left side of me. I gasped and sat straight up in bed, feeling something wet all over my body. Then I realized that it was sweat. I gripped the covers and looked around me. Tai woke me up right before I hit the ground. It all seemed so real. But here I was: safe at home with my brother Tai. 

"Tai," I whispered barely audible. I looked at him with tears in my eyes and breathed hard. 

He looked just as scared as me. I'd be pretty scared too if he had woken up screaming in the middle of the night. 

"Kari, are you ok?" he asked gently. He put his hand on my shoulder and stood up. 

I nodded and put my hand to my forehead, feeling the clamminess of it . "I think so. I don't know. It's just that-I think I need to get some rest." I looked up at him. 

He nodded and climbed back up to his bunk bed. "Good night, Kari," he said.

"Good night," I echoed, hoping that it would really become one. 

"Wake up, Kari! It's time for breakfast." 

"Coming, mother," I groaned as I stood up from bed. I threw off the covers and walked to the bathroom. I turned on the light and pulled out the toothpaste and my toothbrush. Looking in the mirror, I gasped. My face was horrible. My eyes were pink from the lack of sleep and I had bags under them. My lips were swollen from biting them so hard during the night and I had a long line that went from my forehead to my chin from my pillow. I groaned and began to brush my teeth, wondering why this was happening to me. I haven't had a good nights sleep since we defeated the Digimon Emperor. For some reason, it just didn't seem right. We defeated Ken and here he was: on our side now. I didn't like it. 

"Kari!" 

I spit out the toothpaste from my mouth and glared at the door. "I'm coming, mother!" I screamed downstairs. I wiped my mouth and put the toothpaste back in the medicine cabinet. As I lifted my arm, I winced as a searing pain went through my chest. I glanced down and lifted my pajama shirt. In the middle of my chest were four scratch marks that ran half way down my torso. I ran my finger along the marks, wondering what happened. It couldn't have been from Gatomon. That was just a dream. I gasped as I heard a noise in my room. I put my shirt back down as Tai came in the bathroom. 

"You ok, Kari?" he asked me. He was already dressed and he seemed to have already eaten breakfast. 

"Yeah, I'm alright," I lied pulling out my hair brush. I ran it quickly through my hair and walked past him to go downstairs to the kitchen. 

I hope he didn't notice that I was shaking. 

__

"Hail the Digimon Emperor! Hail the Digimon Emperor!"

"Kari!" Yolei scolded from next to me. She stopped walking and stared at me questioningly. 

"Huh?" I asked snapping out of my daze. I didn't realize that I was ignoring her "I'm sorry, Yolei. Go ahead." 

She looked worried for a split second then she went back to her story. "As I was saying, Izzy told me that even though we defeated the Digimon Emperor who turned out to be Ken, the Digital World is still in trouble meaning that there may be another enemy out there. There had to be, right? The digital world is still being destroyed even though Ken is good now, so that means we have to keep out eyes peeled."

"Mmhmm," I muttered, looking straight ahead. "That's nice." 

Yolei stopped walking and grabbed my shoulders. "Kari! Snap out of it? What's wrong? You've been acting like a zombie for days now."

"It's nothing," I said, brushing her off. "Really. I've just been really tired lately and I can't get any sleep." I clutched my forehead, feeling a little dizzy from not enough sleep. "Can we get to class now?" I asked. 

Yolei looked at me and nodded. "Alright. But I have one question. Do you think that those Scubamon are trying to take you back to their world again?"

I stopped walking and held my head down. "I hope not, Yolei. I hope not." 

"Hey, what's wrong with Kari?" I heard a voice whisper. It was Codi. I sat straight up in my seat at lunch, pretending that I didn't hear him. I played with my food and then pushed it aside. 

"Maybe I can cheer her up!" Davis exclaimed. He got out of his chair and sat down next to me. "Hey, Kari," he said. "Knock, knock." 

I looked up at him warily. "Not now, Davis," I muttered. It was really nice how Davis wanted to cheer me up, but I didn't feel like playing right now.

Davis pouted and walked back to his seat. 

T.K. stood up and sat next to me this time. "Do you need someone to talk to?" he asked gently. That's reliable old T.K. Always willing to talk to others when they seem like they're in trouble. 

"No, thanks," I said quietly. More than anything, I just wanted to be alone. "I think I'm going to go take a walk," I said and stood up. Everyone watched bewildered as I left. 

I didn't really care at how I was acting. All I knew was that I needed some sleep and fast. 

I found myself wandering around the whole school, ignoring teachers who were asking where my hall pass was. I walked along the wall, holding myself up. Then I came across the computer room. I walked in it and saw that there was nobody there. Glancing around, I walked up to the computer and saw the gate open. Holding up my Digivice, I was transported to the Digital World. 

I didn't even notice Gatomon chase after me.

"Oof!" I groaned. I landed somewhere that seemed to be the desert. It was deserted and very hot. Standing up, I began to walk around. I didn't know why I came to the Digital World. Especially after Yolei told me about Izzys theory that there was a new enemy. I just needed some time to myself. 

All of a sudden, three digimon ran from nowhere. They were huge trees and they ran past me as if something was chasing them. 

"Wait!" I called. I chased after them, curious as to why they were running. And partly because I didn't want to be alone. 

They turned around. "Human!" They cried. "You must be the Digimon Emperor!" They squealed. They continued to run. 

"No! I'm not! I'm one of the Digidestioned. What are you running from?" 

One of them stopped to turn and the other two left. "There's a human here. He claims that he is the Digimon Emperor. He has taken many digimon captive the same way the other Digimon Emperor did a while back. We don't know how much time we have!" He turned back to run the way he came. 

I looked around me. I needed to get out of here and warn the others of what the Cherrymon told me. I searched for the television, but it was nowhere to be found. "Where is it?" I panicked. I tried to remember which way I came from, but chasing the Cherrymon really turned me around. 

I ran one way, thinking it was the way I came from, but the television was nowhere. I turned back around and ran the other way, but I couldn't see anything. "Oh, no. How did I get in this mess?" I pulled out my digivice, hoping that it would show me some kind of guidance. It beeped and a black dot appeared on it. "That must be the TV," I said. I started heading off in the direction. I glanced up every once in a while as I walked. There was absolutely nothing in sight. I hadn't realized before that I had been walking that much and I was beginning to think that maybe the black dot wasn't the television. "But I have no where else to go," I muttered. "Might as well keep walking." As I neared the black dot, I began to feel a tingling in my chest. I looked down and saw that blood seeped through my shirt. Gasping, I looked down and the cuts were bleeding horribly. Not knowing what else to do, I pressed my shirt against my skin, hoping that the bleeding would stop soon. I wiped my dry mouth with the other hand. I needed water. Fast. I was totally dehydrated and I was so tired that I didn't know how much longer I could walk. I stopped walking for a second. I could see something far off in the distance. I looked at my digivice and it beeped. I squinted to get a better look. I couldn't really make out what it was, but I was sure that it wasn't the television. I began to walk towards whatever it was. All I know was that it was far away and didn't know if I could walk anymore. "I need to rest," I muttered, holding my forehead. I sunk to my knees in the sand and laid back. I closed my eyes, thankful that I could finally get some sleep.

"Hey, does anyone know where Kari's at?" Yolei asked. She was sitting down at the computer, ready to go to the Digital World, but Kari wasn't there. 

"No," T.K. said. "The last time I saw her was when she left after lunch. She didn't even go to math class."

"And she didn't go to gym either," Davis said. He leaned against a desk and crossed his arms. "Where could she be?" 

Veemon sniffed the air. "I think I smell someone coming!"

"Maybe it's Kari!" Davis hoped. He picked up Veemon and held him.

"I don't think so," Koromon said. He jumped in Yoleis lap and sat there. 

Armidillomon snuggled in Codis arms more comfortably. He was fast asleep.

"Hello, kids!" a voice called. 

Everyone stood up and gasped in shock as the computer lab teacher walked in. Everyone looked at each other, embarrassed that they had been caught with their digimon. 

"What are you doing here?" Yolei asked, trying to hide Hawkmon. 

"Well, there is a club meeting today. Wow, what cute little stuffed animals!" As if on cue, a group of students began to walk in. 

Yolei and the rest of the gang stood up. "Thanks," she said. "Well, we better be leaving now." They all walked out of the computer room slowly. They had to go to the Digital World today to test Izzys theory that there was a new enemy. 

"Well, maybe Kari knew that there was a computer club meeting today and she didn't show up," Codi said. He looked at Armidillomon, wondering why he slept so much. 

"Maybe," T.K. said. "But I'll go by her house later on today to see if everything's alright." Patomon flew on top of his head and rested there. 

"Ok, T.I.," Davis said. "But don't try anything slick, loverboy." 

T.K. shook his head warily and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll see you all later." 

"Tai, do you know where Kari is at?" 

Tai glanced up from his homework. He didn't even notice that Kari wasn't home yet. It was late, but he figured that she was in the Digital Word with the rest of the digidestioned. 

Tai smiled and scratched his head. "Uh, she called and told me that she went over Yoleis house so she can help her with a project. She said she'll be home later." 

"I'm worried about her, Tai. She hardly gets any sleep anymore and her teacher called me today to tell me that her grades were slipping. Then another teacher called and told me that she didn't show up for class. I just don't know what to do about her anymore." 

"It's just the pressures of junior high school. I went through the same thing. It'll pass soon." Tai went back to his homework.

"I hope so," she said, cutting up some celery to put in the cake she was baking. "Well," she said, going back to her usual cheery voice. "You want to try some of my new celery cake?" She held out a slice for him. 

Tai held his throat and pretended to gag. "Sure mom, thanks." _I sure wish that Agumon was here to eat this,_ Tai thought to himself, taking a bite out of the cake, smiling at his mom the whole time. 

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Where am I?

I groaned and turned over to my side. I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. Then I sat up. I remembered that I was in the desert last, but now I wasn't anywhere near the desert. It was dark and cold here. And I was laying on herd ground. I put a hand to my chest. The bleeding had stopped. There was a large bandage there now. 

"Who did this?" I asked myself, my voice echoing through the cell. I struggled to see in the darkness. I grabbed for my digivice, but when I reached in my pocket, it wasn't there. I gasped and saw that my D3 wasn't there either. Now I couldn't e-mail anyone for help. 

I stood up and began to walk around. I had no clue where I was or where I was going. All I knew was that I needed to get out. As I walked in the dark, I heard a low growl coming from behind me. I spun around and saw two red glowing eyes. Eyes that looked exactly like Gatomons in my dream. 

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Gatomon. Where is she anyway? I didn't see her when I was walking around the school. She's usually roaming around the halls or something even though I always tell her not to. Where is she when I need her? 

I backed away from the creature. I didn't know what it was or what it wanted with me. "Who are you?" I called, hoping that he would respond in a way. 

He did, alright. He let out a tremendous roar that shook the whole cell. I cried out and fell to the floor as the ground shook. 

"Tyranamon!" a voice scolded. "Be kind to our guest."

I glanced up towards the voice. I knew that voice. It sounded so familiar. It was forever embedded in my head. 

I heard footsteps as he walked closer to me. I stood up and backed up until I hit the wall. A light streamed down from a crack in the crumbling brick. As he walked closer, I could see his face now. His pair of square glasses that he wore and the spikey blue hair. The same long cape and the same look of hate that possessed him before. Now he was back again. 

"Ken," I seethed. I leaned back as he came closer to me. Close enough that I could smell the evil radiating off of him. I was his worst enemy. The powers of Light always battled the powers of Darkness. 

"Kari, how nice of you to be joining me. I wasn't really expecting any visitors, but you're welcome in my lair any time." He touched my hair, knowing that his very existence disgusted me. 

I pulled away. "Give me back my digivice and my D3." 

Ken just laughed. "Really funny. I guess you don't get the concept of this. You are my prisoner. You have lost. You don't just go ordering things from me when you're my prisoner. Right, Tyranamon?"

As if in response, Tyranamon roared once again. 

"See?" Ken asked. He put his arm around my shoulders and led me to a different room. "Now. I will give you a choice. Stay in this filthy dirty cell with the spidermon, or you can stay in this luxurious room with me." He revealed a room with candles lit and a huge bed that covered the whole room. 

I opened my mouth to spit in his face, but then I thought better. If there was a way that I could trick him and get my D3 and digivice back, then I could get out of this place. "Alright," I said. 

"You will?" Ken asked me, surprised at my willingness. 

I nodded. "Yes. And you can get everything that comes with the package." I hoped that he knew what I meant. I barely didn't even know what I meant. I heard Sora say it to my brother once, so I decided that it might be a good thing. 

Apparently, he did and he walked in front of me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to his body. 

I swallowed as his mouth came closer to mine. I struggled to keep it shut so he couldn't kiss me, but I realized that if I ever wanted to escape that I would have to play along. I opened my mouth slightly and let his tongue slither in my mouth. It was horrible. I could feel my body begin to shake as he led me to the bed, never breaking the kiss. 

When we reached the edge of the bed, he peeled his lips from mine. "Don't be frightened," he said, caressing my back. 

I nodded and he gently pushed me back on the bed. He rested his body over me and continued to kiss me. Down my neck and back up again. 

I groaned in revulsion, but he apparently thought it was pleasure and he continued to kiss me. I glanced to my side and saw that there was a candle holder resting on the nightstand. It seemed heavy enough. I needed to get to that. I reached for it, but then his hand touching me under my shirt snapped my attention back to him. I needed to get the candle holder before something happened that I would regret. 

I wriggled in disgust as his hands explored my body. I wished terribly that this wasn't happening. Ken placed kisses leading down to my navel. He kissed my belly button and looked up at my reaction. I tried to make myself seem more into it than I was. He traced his tongue along the hem of my shorts, slithering it down further. That was my cue. I reached up for the candle holder and swung at his head. 

Ken reached up and grabbed my wrist before the candle holder could make contact with his head. It was as if he knew I was going to do that all along. He smiled evilly and wrestled me, trying to get the candle holder away from me. I groaned and struggled with him. Then with a sudden burst of strength, I pulled the candle holder away from him and I used all my strength to push his heavier figure off of me. He fell to the ground with a groan and my digivice and D3 tumbled out of his pocket. I grabbed them before he could get to them and I put them in my pocket. Then I walked over to Ken, lifting the candle holder in the air. I struggled not to think about what I was going to do. I knew that if I didn't do it now, I would never do it. 

"Kari," Ken pleaded. He looked up at me with his blue eyes, so needy and so lonely. 

I stopped. _Just do it, _a voice inside of me said. _It's not like you're going to kill him. You just need to buy yourself some time so you can escape. _

Don't do it, the other side of me said. The more rational side. _Maybe you can leave without hurting anyone. _

I looked down at Ken. As I began to put the candle holder back down, he kicked out his legs from underneath me and I fell to the ground with a surprised gasp. 

He chuckled and stood up. "Lesson number one, Kari. Never let your guard down and always finish what you started. You should have hit me over the head with that thing." He reached down and took the weapon from me. Glaring at him, I stood up, not caring anymore if he would attempt to hurt me. 

"Ken," I said.

"Digimon Emperor," he corrected.

"Ken," I said. "What are you going to do now? Are you going to try and take over the Digital World like you tried before? Sorry, but it didn't work out as planned, remember? What makes you think that it's gonna work this time?" I walked closer to him, staring at him in the eye. 

He stared right back. "How can you say that my plan didn't work out? Everything turned out exactly as planned. I fooled everyone into thinking that I was good old Ken again. What fools. And that Davis! Always believing that there is good in people. What a rip off!" 

I clenched my teeth. "You know, I always believed that too. That there was always good in people. But now you proved me wrong. I doubt there is any ounce of good in you. I doubt there ever was." 

Ken laughed. "That just shows you that you need to be more realistic and less naive." He looked in my eyes, waiting for my reaction. 

"Yeah, well I don't need to worry about being realistic. You need to be. Do you actually think that you will take over the Digital World? Now talk about being realistic." I kept my daze, never blinking. 

Ken narrowed his eyes in anger. "We'll see about that." Ken finally moved. He paced around the room. "Oh, by the way, how have you been sleeping lately? Any nightmares?" 

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. How did he know that I wasn't sleeping good lately? 

He walked closer to me so that he stood directly behind me. "I think you need to get some rest now." He brought his hand up to my mouth, covering it with a damp cloth. I struggled for a moment, confused and feeling dizzy. The dizziness spread as he held it there longer. Then I began to feel sleepy. Until finally, I fell asleep. 

Knock, knock, knock.

"Tai! Can you get the door? I'm upstairs and I'm busy." 

"Yes, mom!" Tai called back. He closed his Algebra book and walked to the door. "Kari, where have you-oh, hi T.K."

"Hi, Tai," T.K. said with Patomon along with him. "Is Kari here? She wasn't feeling to good in school. We didn't go to the Digital World today because there was a computer club meeting." 

Tai stood back. "Wait. You're telling me that you guys didn't go to the Dgital World?" 

T.K. and Patomon both shook their heads. "No."

"Well, she never came home from school today. I just figured that she was in the Digital World."

T.K.'s eyes widened. He never would have thought that Kari would be missing. "Well, where could she be? None of us kids saw her after school. She couldn't have just disappeared!" T.K. began to loose it.

"Hey, man!" Tai scolded. "Just chill. My mom's upstairs and we don't want her to hear us." He grabbed T.K. and took him upstairs to his room. 

When they got settled, Tai sat on his bed. "Ok. We'll call everyone we know. You call Davis, Codi, Yolei and Ken. I'll go call Sora, Matt, Joe and Izzy. Use my cell phone while I use the one in the kitchen." 

T.K. nodded and called Yolei first. 

"Hello!" The voice on the other line said. "This is Yolei speaking."

"Yolei!" T.K. said, but then he was cut off. 

"Sorry we can not come to the phone right now. If you're a cute guy, leave your name and number and I'll be SURE to get back to you as soon as possible. Bye!"

"Yolei, this is T.K.! Call me back ASAP! It's an emergency!" He hung up and then went to the next number on the list which was Codi. 

"Hello?" A voice asked on the other line. 

"Hi. This is T.K. I was wondering if I could speak to Codi please. It's an emergency." 

"I'm sorry," Codis mom said. "Codi can't receive any calls after eight o'clock. Good bye." 

"Aaarrgh!" T.K. groaned and hung up the phone again. "Now Davis." He punched the numbers in the phone and heard the other line ring a few times. 

"Hello?" a young girl asked. 

"Hi, June? This is T.K. I was wondering if I could speak to-"

"T.K?" She interrupted. "You're Matt's brother, right? Can I talk to him?"

T.K. clinched his hand. "No. I'm not at home right now. Besides, I need to talk to Davis!"

"Oh, alright. But can you please tell Matt that I said hi and that I love him?" 

"Whatever!" T.K. said. "Just put Davis on the phone!"

There was a pause. "Hello?" 

"Davis! I need to ask you a question. Have you talked to Kari since we left from school?" 

Davis paused. "T.J., is that you?"

"Yes. I mean no! It's T.K. Not T.J." 

"Oooh. Well, I haven't talked to her. Why don't you go up he house like you were-wait. Are you up at her house now?" 

"No," T.K. lied. There was no point in getting Davis worried about Kari. He'd go ballistic like he did last time. 

"Yes you are. I have you on caller ID. I'll be there right away!" The phone hung up and T.K. groaned again. "Stubborn bull," he muttered. "Now I need to call Ken." He punched in the numbers and waited for the phone to ring. He felt a little uneasy calling Ken. Especially after they had battled and fought against each other that one time in Kens lair. 

"Hello, is Ken there?" He asked as soon as he heard the phone pick up.

"Hold on," came the confused reply. "Ken, dear! The phone is for you." She paused for his response. There was none. "Ken? Are you there?" 

T.K. waited patiently. 

Then there was a response. 

"Ken? This is T.K." 

"No!" His mother cried out. "Ken's not in his room! I don't know where he is!" Then the phone hung up.

T.K. placed the phone down on the bed. Ken was missing again? 

"How'd it go?" Tai asked as he walked back in his room. 

T.K. shook hid head. "Not too good. Yolei wasn't home, Codu can't receive calls after eight and Davis is on his way over right now. That's really bad news." 

Tai groaned. "Well, what about Ken? Does he know anything?" 

"Here's the weird thing," T.K. said. "When I called Ken, his mother answered, but then she found out that he was missing from his room." 

"Huh?" he gasped. "Where could he be?" 

T.K. shook his head and patted Patomon as he slept. "I don't know. But I have a really bad feeling about this. I mean, he's been acting mysteriously. The same way he acted when he was the Digimon Emperor. It's just a crazy thought, but d you think that....?"

Tai shook his head. "I don't know. But we have to find her before my mom notices that she's gone." 

"Tai? Was that Kari on the phone?" His mother called from the kitchen. 

"Uh, as a matter of fact, it was." Tai yelled loud enough for her to hear. "She called and said that she was sleeping over Yoleis because her project was taking longer than expected. I'm going to go and take her some clothes so she can wear them for school tomorrow. I'll be right back." Tai turned to T.K. "Come on. Let's go. We'll wait for Davis outside. And Izzy and Matt said that they'll come over." T.K. nodded and carried Patomon, careful not to wake him. 

"Oh, hi, T.K.," Tai's mom said. "I didn't know that you were here. Would you like something to eat?"

"No thank you. I have to get going anyways."

"Ok. Bye." 

"Bye." He held Patomon behind his back as he walked out the door. 

"That was close," Tai said, holding one of Kari's old book bags. "Let's wait for Davis over there in the shadows. We can't let my mom see us just hanging around here."

T.K. nodded and followed him behind a tree. The didn't say anything and waited for Davis to show up. 

"Hey, I think that's him over there," Tai said, pointing to a person walking down the street. "We have to get him before he reaches the door. On the count of three, we'll grab him into the shadows before my mom can see him!" 

"Ok." 

They waited for Davis to come closer. He was humming a song and Demiveemon was right next to him, humming the same tune.

"One, two, THREE!" Tai and T.K. jumped out from behind the trees and grabbed Davis. Tai put a hand over his mouth before he could scream and T.K. grabbed Demiveemon. 

"Hey!" Davis squealed. "Don't hurt me! Please, please, please don't hurt me! I didn't mean to!" Davis began to cry like a little baby. 

"Davis!" Tai said. "Calm down. It's me and T.K."

Davis stopped crying and looked at them. "Oh. Well, why are you sneaking up on people? You better be careful next time or I might have to hurt you." 

"Ok," T.K. said. "Now we have to wait for Izzy. He should be here any-"

"I think I smell him!" Demiveemon said, sniffing the air. 

"Well why couldn't you say that you smelled T.K. and Tai behind the bushes?" Davis pouted. 

"One, two, three!" Tai shouted and they all pulled Izzy in the bushes along with them. 

"Aahh!" Izzy yelled. He looked up and saw Tai, Davis and T.K. standing there. "Geez! Give me a heart attack, will ya!" He stood up and brushed himself off. "Thanks a lot guys. I was wearing my new shirt today and you could have broken my lap top."

"We have more things to worry about," Tai said. "We need to find Kari." 

"Right," Izzy said. "Now, there is no point to go into the Digital World without finding her exact location. Here. I'll pull up the map and-whoa! Look at this, guys! More control spires!" 

"Huh?" Davis asked. He looked at the screen and like Izzy said, there were black squares across the whole screen. "Where'd they come from?" 

"We'll tell you about out theory later," T.K. said. "Now we have to see if Kari is in the Digital World." 

Izzy nodded and searched across the screen for her location. He saw a pink light flash over the sector where there were the most control spires. "She's there," he said pointing. 

"Tai!" A voice called out. Tai turned around to see Gatomon. "Gatomon, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Kari?"

"No!" Gatomon said, out of breath. "She left without me. I tried to go after her, but she already went through the gate." 

"Ok, then. What are we waiting for?" Davis said. He held up his Digivice, ready to go to the Digital World. 

"Matt," Tai said, holding Karis most trusted friend. 

"Huh?" Davis asked. 

"We're waiting for Matt. He said that he'll come with us, but he's not here yet."

"Yes I am," A voice called. 

"Matt!" Tai called. "Good to see you. Now we can get going." 

"Digiport open!" Davis yelled. He held up his Digivice and the all were transported to the Digital World. 

__

Where am I? Am I dreaming? 

Slowly I stood up. I was in a room much like the room Ken and I was in. I walked over to the bed and sat down. Ken was nowhere to be found. That was a good thing. 

"Not quite," a voice said. 

I glanced up and saw Ken standing in the shadows. He took a step into the light so I could see him.

"Ken," I said. 

Ken walked towards me slowly. When he reached me, he ran his hand along the side of my face. I reached up to slap his hand away, but he only grabbed it into his own hand. He looked at it and traced it along his face. I tried to pull away, but he held it firmly. 

"Kari," he said, still using my hand to caress his face. Then he led it to his neck. "I always knew that you had something for me." He led my hand down further, making me touch every part of his bare chest. 

"This is only a dream, this is only a dream," I chanted to myself. I knew that as long as this was a dream, that he couldn't hurt me. 

"On the contrary," he said, reading my thoughts. "This is very much real. I have found a way to tap into peoples dreams and control them any way I like. So anything that happens here, happens in the real world."

I gasped as he held my hand even tighter and pushed it down his pants. 

"You're lying," I said, pulling my hand out, tearing my grip away from him. "This is just a bad dream. I'll wake up and nothing would have happened." I closed my eyes to try and reassure myself.

"Believe what you want. But do you remember those scratch marks you got from Gatomon?"

This stopped me. "Huh? How do you know about that?"

"Duh," he said. "Because I was there! Remember? I told Stingmon to drop you. You would have been dead if it wasn't for your brother who woke you up right before you hit the ground. But this time I will make sure that no one will wake you up. In fact, no one will hear your screams except me." Ken began to laugh. 

I took this time to hit him where it hurt most. I lifted my knee and hit between his legs. 

"Aagh!" Ken cried out. He bent over in pain. I took this opportunity to take off. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew that I had to get away. And if what he said was true about him having control over my dreams, then he will have no problem finding me. 

"Boo!" Ken said, jumping in front of me, appearing fro nowhere. I skidded to a stop and turned the other way. 

"There's no use running, Kari, my sweet. I will find you." 

I looked back and didn't see him. I stopped and stood in the middle of a long corridor. I didn't know which way he was going to jump out from. Oh, why did I have to stop running? Why do I have to be so stupid? 

"Yes, you are pretty stupid, Kari," Kens voice echoed through my head. I spun around. He wasn't there. Then I turned back around. There was nothing but darkness. 

"Got you," He said coming up from behind me. He grabbed me around the shoulder so I couldn't move my arms. 

"Let go!" I shouted. I struggled to free myself. I pushed and kicked and bit and begged, but it was no use. Nothing was going to work. 

"Now you're understanding, Kari," Ken said. "Nothing will help you now. As long as you...cooperate." His grip became gentle and he turned me to face him. 

"I'm sorry that I have to hurt you, Kari, but you see, I don't respond to rejection very well." His lips traced mine as he talked, sending shivers up my spine. 

He wrapped his arms around me. "Are you cold? Let me warm you up." He wrapped his arms around me and held me close to his body. I almost felt safe in his arms. I was never held like this from T.K. or Davis. It felt good. 

"Yes, I know," Ken said. He held me even closer and placed his lips on mine. 

I moaned with willingness as he kissed me even deeper. 

I can't believe this, Ken thought. I can't believe that she is actually cooperating. Let me read her mind just to make sure that she isn't planning anything against me....hmmm. Her mind is blank. Oh well. 

Ken kissed me even harder and led me to his bed. 

I paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to escape, but the trick was to keep my mind blank. If he didn't know what I was thinking, maybe I could escape. He walked back to the bed and stopped when we reached the edge. With out a moment to waste, I lifted my leg and hit him in the same place that I knew hurt him so much. 

"No!" Ken cried out. "I-how could you have done that? You weren't even thinking it!"

I didn't say anything, but I grabbed my digivice and D3 out of his pocket, put it in my own, and ran out the room down through a long corridor. I didn't know which way to go, so I just ran down the closest path I found. I concentrated hard on not thinking anything. If I even thought about where I was going, he would know and beat me there to the punch. I tried to think of something else. I thought of flowers and fields full of them. I almost got lost in the thought, then I was stuck at a fork in the path. One looked dark and the other had light shining through it. 

"Don't think about it!" I whispered to myself. Then I had an idea. 'Maybe I should go through the path with the light,' I thought to myself, hoping that Ken was listening to this. 'I can beat him there. I just know it.' Without a moments hesitation, I ran down the other path, thinking of flowers in a field. It was dark and I kept bumping into walls, but as long as I kept my mind blank, I knew I would get out. As I neared the end of the corridor, I saw light. It was beaming through an opening. I cried out with joy and lost my mind control. I really didn't care what I was thinking. I was home free now. 

"Think again," Kens voice boomed out. 

I skidded to a stop. He was waiting for me at the end of the tunnel. 

"I caught on to your little mind game," Ken said. "After all, I'm a genius. What did you expect? Anyways, I'm tired of toying with you. Tyranamon. Attack!" 

Behind me I could hear the ferocious roar of Tyranamon. I spun around and gasped. He was about fifty yards away. Another roar caught me off guard. I spun back around. There was another Tyranamon standing in front of me. They both charged me full force. 

I closed my eyes as they neared closer. Everything seemed so real. The smell of their breath, the droll dripping down their long sharp teeth. It was all too real. Then I remembered that whatever happens here happens in the real world. 

"WAKE UP!!!!!!!" I screamed as loud as I could. 

"Agh!" I screamed. I sat up and woke in a sweat. I glanced around. I was back in the cell I first started in. I tried to think back to the dream. If what Ken said was true, then everything in my dream was real. 

I went in my pocket and pulled out my digivice and D3. 

"Thank God," I said. I opened the D3 and quickly typed a distress message. 

Davis, if you can read this, I NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!! I'm in the Digital World. ~Kari~

I put the D3 away and stood up. There was a stream of light beaming through a crack in the wall. Curiously, I walked over to it. I put my hand up to the wall and it started to crumble beneath my fingers. Quickly, I began to dig through the wall. I could hear Ken yelling at some poor digimon in the background. I knew that he would probably be on his way to come here soon. 

I began to dig more frantically. There was silence now. I didn't know where he was. He could be on his way here right now. 

As if on cue, I began to hear slow footsteps walking towards the cell. 

I looked at the hole. It was getting bigger. Almost big enough for me to fit through. "Just a few more seconds," I whispered digging more frantically. The footsteps were right down the hall. 

Finally it was big enough for me to fit through. I struggled to climb through it. I had half of my body through when I heard a voice. 

"Kari!" 

I looked back. The voice didn't seem to match Kens. 

It was Matt and Gabumon. 

"Matt!" I whispered. "Am I glad to see you. You have to help me get out!" 

Matt nodded. "Gabumon, you may have the honors." 

"Wait," I said. "I think I hear Ken coming." They all stood quietly. Sure enough, they could hear Kens voice echoing down the hallways. 

"Hurry," I said. "Get me out of here!" 

Gabumon nodded. "Blue Blaster!" 

The gate froze, but it didn't open. 

"It didn't work," I said. 

"Yes it did," Gabumon said. He hit the frozen part of the gate and the gate fell apart. 

I climbed through just as Ken turned the corner. 

"What are you-" Ken started. "Tyranamon, ATTACK!" 

"Run!" Matt yelled. He began to run, followed by Gabumon then me. "What is Ken doing here?" Matt asked. He turned his head. 

"He's the Digimon Emperor again!" I yelled back. 

"Huh? I thought he was good!" 

"It's a long story! Run faster!" I yelled. 

"But which way?" Matt asked, stopping as we reached a fork. 

"Just go!" I yelled. He ran to the left. It was really light where we were running. And if my memory serves right, then this was the wrong way to go. We should have ran towards the darkness because that was the way out in my dream. 

"Uh, maybe we should've went the other way," Matt said. "It's a dead end." 

"Don't say dead!" Gabumon scolded. 

"He's right there!" I yelled pointing at the large dinosaur-type creature. 

"Blue Blaster!" 

The hit didn't even faze him. He seemed to be laughing at us. 

"Fire Rocket!" A large flame appeared behind Tyranamon. 

"Flamedramon!" I cried happily. 

"Star Shower!" Large stars began to fall and they ht Tyranamon on the neck.

"Pegasusmon!" I said. 

"Pepper Breath!" 

"Super Shocker!" 

"Lightning Claw!" 

"And Agumon and Tentomon and Gatomon! You guys are my heroes!" 

Tyranamon fell to the ground. The dark spiral he was wearing broke into tiny little pieces. 

Matt Gabumon and I jumped over the Tyranamon to get to our friends. Standing on the other side along with the digimon were Tai, Davis, Izzy and T.K. Flamedramon and Pegasusmon went back to their rookie levels.

"Guys!" I said. "I am so glad to see you." I ran up to Tai and gave him a hug. Then I gave Gatomon a hug too. 

"Are you alright, Kari?" he asked. 

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. But we need to get out of here now. I know the way to go. We go to the-"

"Not so fast!" Ken appeared from behind the shadows. 

"Ken?" Davis cried out. "What are you doing here?"

"Fool!" Ken spat out. "I am the Digimon Emperor!" 

"But!" Davis stuttered. "I thought that you were good now!"

Ken just laughed. "That's what I made you all believe. But now I can't let you escape now that you all know the truth. That would really hurt my reputation, you know."

"We're gonna beat you once and for all," Matt raged. He clenched his fists. 

"With what?" Ken asked. "Those rookie level digimon?"

"We'll see about that," I said. "Are you ready, Gatomon?" 

"You bet!" She said. 

I held out my digivice. 

"Gatomon....armor digivolve to.......Nefertimon!"

"Go get him!" I said. 

Nefertimoon nodded. "Rosseta Stone!" 

"Ah!" Ken yelped as the stones flew deadly close to his head. He jumped to the side. "You won't ever hurt me! Stingmon! Attack!" 

"Yes, master," Stingmon said. He jumped in the air and began to fight with Nefertimon. 

Nefertimon threw her Rosseta Stones once again, aiming at Stingmon. He dodged to the side and started to attack her, but then something stopped them both. They hovered in the air, confused. 

"What is that?" Davis asked. The ground began to rumble and shake. 

"I-I think it's collapsing! This place wasn't made sturdy enough. We better get going!"

"Right," Tai said. He picked up Agumon. "Come on! Stop fighting or we'll all die!" 

Nefertimon looked at me questioningly. I nodded to let her know that it was alright to stop fighting. Without warning, Stingmon came from behind her and hit her with his large arm. 

"Ahhh!" she screamed. She transformed back into Gatomon.

"Gatomon!" I screamed. I ran to where she landed. 

"Com on, Kari!" Tai yelled. "We have to go now!" 

"Not without Gatomon!" I replied, still running. A large rock fell from the ceiling, landing in front of me. I gave out a little yelp, but continued to run. I needed to save her. She would do the same thing for me. 

"No, Kari!" Davis yelled. 

"Don't go!" T.K. yelled, too. 

I ignored all of them. Gatomon was my friend. Practically family. I couldn't just leave her. Not when she helped me whenever I was in need of help. 

"Gatomon!" I screamed, trying to find some guidance. 

I heard a small meow. "Gatomon?" It was very distant. 

I heard her meow more urgently. 

I ran to where the noise was coming from. "Gatomon!" I was a few feet in front of her. I kneeled down next to her and picked up her limp body. "It'll be ok." I cradled her close to my body and shielded her from all the falling debris. 

"Ok, Kari. Now we got to go," Tai ordered. He and the rest of the guys were already outside in safety. 

I nodded and began to run towards them. I stopped suddenly when I heard a groan from under some rocks. I looked down. It was Ken. 

:Kari," he croaked out. He reached his hand out to me. 

I looked at him, then at Tai. I didn't know what to do. The place was going to give way any second now. 

"Come on, Kari!" Tai yelled. 

"Kari!" All of them screamed in unison. 

"Here, Tai!" I said. I gave Gatomon a kiss on her forehead and as gently as I could, I tossed her to him. He caught her and looked at me questioningly. 

I ignored his stare and picked up Wormon. I tossed him to Tai also. 

"Kari, no! We have to go now! It's going to collapse." 

I ignored him. Instead, I knelt down and lifted Ken upwards. I propped him against my shoulder and began to help him walk. If I could hurry, we both could get out alive. 

No suck luck. 

A large boulder fell from the top of the tunnel. I gave out a surprised yelp and fell backwards. The boulder landed right in front of me. 

"Kari!" I could hear Tai scream from the other side. 

"Tai, I'm alright!" I said, coughing from all the dust. I took a deep breath. "But I can't get out! The exit is sealed." 

"Just stay there. We'll try to move it!"

"You can't move that!" I said. "It's way too big. I'll find another way out." 

"No, Kari," I heard Izzy say. "Just stay put. That's the reasonable thing to do. We'll find a way."

"Kari," Ken whispered. 

I bent down so I could hear him. "Yes?" 

"I know another way out. It's on the other side of the lair, though. And I can't walk." He looked down at his leg. It was twisted in an awful way. 

"Then I'll carry you," I said. I lifted him up.

"No," he said. "I'll only slow you down." 

"No you won't. Besides we have all the time we need to get out of here. We just have to be patient." I propped him up more so it would be easier. "Now which way?" 

"To the left."

I nodded and turned back. "Tai! Can you hear me?"

"Yeah. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. I'm going to find a way out. Ken is helping me!"

"No, Kari!" It was T.K. "Don't listen to him. It might be another trap."

I ignored him and began to walk. 

"You know," Ken said. "It could really be a trap." 

I stared straight ahead. "I'll take that risk." I walked to the left, carrying him the whole way. The walls of the tunnel were still rumbling, but the collapsing had subsided. For now. The corridor was long. Real long. It was so long that I couldn't even see the end of it. 

I continued to walk in silence. Ken groaned every once in a while and I stopped two times to rest my feet and my aching shoulders. After the second time I stopped, Ken surprised me with a question. 

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. 

I didn't even have to think. "Because it's the only human thing to do. I didn't want to leave you here to die. I could never to that to anyone." 

"But I tricked all of you. I lied, and I hurt you. Are you telling me that you forgive things that horrible so quickly?"

I didn't say anything at first. He made a good point. "Well, there are more important things than getting into stupid fights. I can never be stubborn enough that I won't save someone because they hurt me." 

Ken didn't say anything for a long time. I was finally getting to him. At least someone was. 

When we finally reached the end of the long corridor, there was a three way fork. 

"Which way?" I asked. 

"To the right." 

I nodded and continued to walk. The tunnel seemed to be getting darker and darker. 

"Ken, I can't see," I said. I stopped walking and stood in the middle of the fork. 

"Good," he said. 

Confused, I looked down at him through the darkness. Actually, I looked up at him. He stood up on his own two feet. I felt a deep feeling in the pit of my stomach. The kind of feeling that I always get when I realize that I was tricked. 

"You know, Kari, you really do forgive people too easily. You're so naive that I feel bad that I have to destroy you now." He grabbed my hands and pinned me against the wall. I felt a cold blade against my neck. 

"Ken," I whispered. I looked up in his eyes. They were pure evil. "Please." 

He just laughed. 

I closed my eyes then. I could feel a tear fall down my cheek. I knew it was a lost cause. I couldn't get through to him. I never would be able to. He was just too evil. 

__

Stop it, Kari, I heard a voice in my head say. It sounded like Gatomon. _You have to be strong. You have to be! You have to fight this evil so you can live. Don't give up. _

"Gatomon," I said barely audible. I held my head down and breathed hard as the blade pressed up harder against my throat. 

"What?" Ken said. "You have some last words?" 

I looked up into those eyes that betrayed me so many times. I did have something to say. "Ken. You are the most evilest person that I have meet. You have betrayed me many times and I can't tolerate it anymore. If you think you're going to win, you are wrong. Even if you do kill me, my friends will get you. They will destroy you."

"Ha! I'll get them right after I kill you! Remember, I can tap into peoples dreams!"

"Then there will be other digidestioned. There are millions all over the world as we speak. The only way to destroy us is to destroy us all. And I really don't think you have the guts to kill all those people." 

"You think I don't have the guts?" Ken asked. He shifted the blade so that it was pressed against my arm. He pressed the tip of it into my flesh. 

I didn't say anything. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of giving him my pain. 

He looked at me, waiting for me to cry out for him to stop. When I didn't, he pressed it deeper. 

I clenched my teeth together and closed my eyes, trying to gather up all my rage and all my strength. I needed to use it wisely. 

"So you're not scared to die?" Ken asked. "We'll just see about that." He turned the blade so that it rested on my arm length wise. With one swift move, he sliced my skin. 

I gasped and reached for my arm. I looked down at it. Blood was everywhere. 

"Ken," I seethed. I clenched my good hand into a fist and I hit him over his head hard. He stumbled backwards until he hit the other wall. 

"How dare you!" He said. He charged at me, raising a fist. I jumped out of the way and began to run down the long corridor. I couldn't see a thing and I had no idea where I was going. I pulled out my digivice and held it up. A little bit of light began to radiate off of it. Just enough so that I could see where I was going. It wasn't long before I heard Kens ragged breathing and stumbling footsteps behind me. I had to keep going though. I had to. I was almost to the end of the tunnel. I could see a faint light at the other end. 

I put my digivice back in my pocket. I couldn't waste the battery when I didn't need it. The light at the end of the tunnel was enough. 

All of a sudden, I felt my legs go up from under me. I fell forward and landed on my chest. All the air left my lungs and I struggled to breathe correctly. I clutched my chest as Ken turned me over. 

"I-I can't-"

Ken looked at me. "Breathe?" He asked. 

I nodded. 

"Good then. Now I won't even have to kill you. You'll be doing my dirty work for me! Hahahaha!" 

With the little strength I had, I kicked up do that my foot landed in his face. 

He flipped back and clutched his nose. "You little-come back!" 

I wasn't even listening. I was already gone. The end of the tunnel seemed so close now. I pulled out my D3 and sent an e-mail to Davis. 

Davis, I'm at the other end of Ken's lair. Meet me there! Kari. 

I closed the D3 as I sent it and hoped that they got there in time. Ken would be up and after me any second. 

The light seemed to get closer and closer. So close that I could actually see outside. 

"Kari!" T.K. called. He looked in the tunnel and reached out his hand to me. I reached out my own hand, but then I stopped running. The ground was moving from underneath me again. This time it was more powerful than before. I fell to the ground. 

"Kari!" T.K said.

I stood up tried to keep my balance as I ran. T.K. grabbed my hand and pulled me outside to safety. 

"Tai!" I cried out to my brother. He ran to me and gave me a hug. I hugged him back and began to cry. 

"Kari, you're bleeding!" He exclaimed. 

"It's nothing," I replied. "It-it was Ken. He tried to kill me!"

"Kari!" A voice screamed. "Help me!" 

It was Ken. He was trapped under a fallen boulder. I looked into his eyes. They still held that evil in them. I buried my face into Tai's shoulder as another boulder fell on top of Ken. 

"Ken!" A mournful voice called. I looked at my side. It was Wormon. "No. Don't die!" Wormon ran as fast as he could to help his fallen master, but he was too late. Ken was gone. 

"Wormon," I said gently. Wormon was a good digimon. We all knew it. It wasn't his fault that he had a bad digidestioned. But he loved Ken so much that he stuck by him the whole time. 

"Come on Wormon," I said picking him up. I hugged him as he cried into my shoulder. "Let's go home."

As all six of us went through the gate, I couldn't help but noticing that the Digital World looked much brighter and much more healthier than before. I smiled.

"Good night, Kari," Tai said, climbing up into his bunk bed. 

"Good night, Tai," I replied. I hugged both Gatomon and Wormon to me as I snuggled deeper in the covers. For sure I knew that it would really be a good night.

A.N. Hi, readers! This is my first Digimon fic. I had some fun writing it and I hope that you had fun reading it. It was a little complicated to write because sometimes I didn't know where I was going with it, but I am so glad that it's done. There will most likely be a sequel to this. I'm thinking about it because I left some gaps in it on purpose. I'll write a Part 2 depending on how many reviews I get, but if not, I'll just let it RIP. Flames are welcome!!!! :P


	2. Betrayal: Part Two

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. But I do own the great stories. -_~

Part 2 

__

"T.K.!!!!!! T.K. help me!" I struggled against the ropes that were tightly wrapped around my wrists. They dug into my flesh. Taking a deep breath, I pulled against the ropes as hard as I could, attempting to break them. I concentrated on feeling them tear under my flesh, but it never happened. All it caused was more bleeding. I let out my breath and panted with the effort. 

"T.K.!" I repeated. I could see three large digimon off in the distance running towards me, most likely hungry. Their eyes were glowing an evil red. 

"Kari! I'm here!" 

I looked down from my pedestal. "Hurry, T.K. They're coming and they look hungry!" 

"I'm coming! Patomon, digivolve!" 

"Mmhmm." Patomon agreed. "Patomon armor digivolve to.......Pegasusmon!" Patomon underwent his transformation. "Climb on, T.K.," Pegasusmon said. T.K. climbed on his back and they flew up to me. 

"Are you hurt?" T.K. asked, looking concerned. 

"I'm fine I think, but they're even closer! Hurry and untie me!" I wriggled her arms. 

T.K. took out a small switch blade and held it up to my wrists, cutting the ropes. "Climb on," he said, helping me off the small platform. 

"Thanks," I said gratefully. I got on Pegasusmon and held onto T.K.'s waist as Pegasusmon maneuvered through the air. "Now we have to help those poor digimon." I said.

"Right," T.K. said. "Pegasusmon, are you ready?" 

"You bet."

He flew through the air at incredible speeds towards the large digimon. Effortlessly, Pegasusmon attacked the three digimon with his Aqueous Beam and the spirals that held them prisoner vanished. They looked around confused for a moment, then they went off trampling in the other direction yelling a thanks behind their backs. 

T.K. and I smiled as we freed the digimon. It always felt good to help people and digimon. 

I suddenly stopped smiling and looked up at T.K. He really had a great smile. It brought out his blue eyes. He caught me looking at him and also stopped smiling. His face looked so serious. 

T.K.," I whispered as he leaned forward. He seemed to be wanting to kiss me. I had no idea. I've never been kissed before. I didn't know what to do. 

He was so close. Close enough that I can smell the faint scent of bubblegum on him. I inhaled and felt my insides melt. His lips came closer...closer....closer. Just as I felt his soft lips brush against mine, a horrible buzzing came overhead. We both jerked back and looked in the sky. An enormous bug-like digimon flew dangerously close to us. 

"We need to destroy the dark spiral!" I said to T.K. 

"But Kari," he interjected, "he isn't being controlled!" 

I took another look at the digimon. Sure enough, I couldn't find a dark spiral anywhere. 

"Then why is he attacking us on his own free will?" 

"Look at him, Kari. It sort of looks like......."

"Stingmon!" I shouted. How could I have been so dumb? No other digimon looked remotely like him. "But he can't digivolve without Ken!" Just as the words left my mouth, realization sunk in. What if Ken had survived the ordeal that occurred a month ago?

"T.K.," I mumbled. I could feel my blood run cold at the thought that he survived. 

"We have to get out of here," T.K. said. "Pegasusmon, see if you can find us a safe place to hide!" 

Pegasus nodded and flew around the dark landscape, using his strong vision to detect somewhere to hide. 

"T.K.!" I screamed. Stingmon was coming back. 

"Faster!" T.K. ordered. 

"He's coming closer!" I whimpered, clinging to T.K. I looked back and saw that he was gaining on us and fast. I looked at the digimon, surprised that he was attacking us. He was usually a kind and gentle digimon. What would possess him to fight this way? 

"It's Ken!" I gasped. 

"Huh?" T.K. questioned. He turned his body so he can get a better look. Sure enough, Ken was being held by Stingmon. 

"But I thought that-" I started as he hovered right above us. I clung more tightly to T.K. burying my face in his back. 

"I'm Baa-ack," Ken sing-sang when he was close enough. He looked sown at me. "Hi, Kari. Maybe sometime we can finish what we started." 

T.K. looked at me. "What's he talking about?" he asked. 

"Well, maybe not," Ken interrupted. "Because you're not going to be around for much longer. Stingmon!" 

"Yes, master?"

"Destroy them both!" 

Stingmon looked at me and T.K. with sad eyes. He outstretched his right arm. "Spiking strike!" He charged forward and pierced Pegasusmon's side with the stinger on his arm. 

"Agh!" Pegasusmon cried out. He jerked to the side, causing me and T.K. to fall out of his saddle. 

"T.K.!" I screamed reaching out for him. 

"Kari!" He yelled. He grabbed my hand, trying to get a secure grip. For a second, he had a hold of me, but then his grip faltered and he fell out of my reach. 

"T.K.!" I screamed. I could see a clear view of the earth now. It was coming closer and closer into view for each hundred feet that I dropped. I didn't see T.K. anywhere. I held my breath and braced myself for the impact of rock hard cement against shattering bone. 

"Kari, wake up!" 

"Help!" I screamed one last time. I opened my eyes with a jolt. I sat up to face Tai the same way I had a month ago.

"Kari, were you having another nightmare?" Tai sat down on the bed next to me.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"You want to talk about it?" He rubbed my back the same way he used to do when I was little and waking up from nightmares. It always seemed to put me back to sleep before. Not this time though. I didn't know if I could ever go to sleep again. 

"I-I'm scared to," I said. "It was all just so real." 

Tai nodded. "It'll be ok. Just remember they're just dreams. They can't hurt you." He stood up and climbed in his bunk. "Just try to go back to sleep."

I nodded to myself. Dreams aren't real. I can't be hurt anymore now that Ken was gone. I hugged Gatomon and Wormon closer to me and closed my eyes for a second. As soon as I did, Ken's evil face was before me. I opened my eyes a split second after closing them and began to breathe hard.

"Tai," I whispered, hoping that he was still awake. I was answered with his rhythmic breathing. 

I sighed. "They're just dreams," I reassured myself. Still I wasn't so sure as I stared at T.K.'s switch blade that rested in my hand. 

"Hey, Kari," Yolei said. "What's up?" She sat at the lunch table, picking at the meat surprise. 

"Oh, nothing," I groaned. 

Yolei took another look at the slab of meat and placed it back on her plate with a disgusted look. Then she turned her attention to me. "You don't sound too good. Anything you want to talk about?" 

I shook my head and yawned. "It's nothing really. I just haven't been getting much sleep."

From across the table, T.K. glanced at me curiously. He didn't say anything. 

"So," Yolei started, talking to Davis. 

I ignored their conversation. I started thinking about the dream I had last night and if it was real. Tai had no idea that Ken had the power over people's dreams and that you could actually get hurt. I never told him. I never told anyone. If Ken was really alive, I didn't know what to do anymore. He would most likely try to take over the Digital World all over again. He just never gave up. I clenched my hands into fists from under the lunch table. He had to be stopped. I couldn't allow him to-

"Kari?"

I flinched and looked up, startled. T.K. stood over me. He looked serious. Much like when we were when I was dreaming. 

"Yes?" I asked. "What is it?"

"Can...." He looked at everyone in the table who seemed to be interested in other things than them. "Can I talk to you alone?" 

"Ok," I said standing up from the table. I followed him out of the cafeteria to the library. It would be quiet enough for us to talk there. Besides, hardly no one hung out there. 

When we got there, he picked out a secluded table near the back. I sat across from him and folded my hands from underneath the table. I had somewhat of an idea what he was going to talk to me about. I was thinking about talking to him all day about it, but I didn't think that it would be a good idea. What if he thought I was crazy?

"Kari," T.K. started. "I heard you tell Yolei that you didn't get much sleep last night. What's wrong?"

I looked down at the table. "Well, it's just that-"

"Ha! I knew that I could find you two here!"

I glanced up. Davis stood in front of us, smiling like a little boy. 

"Great," T.K. said. "Well, me and Kari were kind of talking." 

"What a coincidence!" Davis said sitting down next to me. "I love to talk too!"

"We know," T.K. said irritably.

"So what are we talking about?" He asked. 

"You mean _me and Kari_," T.K. corrected. "I'd kind of like to talk to Kari alone." 

Davis looked at me for help. I knew that he meant well and he liked to play around a lot, but now just wasn't the time. "Davis," I said gently. "Can T.K. and I talk for a moment?"

Davis held his head down in failure. "Ok," he said. He slowly stood up and left. It made me feel bad for the poor guy. 

"But me and you can talk later, Davis," I said as cheerful as could. 

"Really?" Davis asked. That really lifted his spirits. "Wow. I can't believe that Kari's going to talk to me later!" He skipped out of the library. 

"Now," T.K. said turning my attention back to him. "Where were we?"

"I was going to tell you why I haven't been sleeping well," I reminded. 

"Go ahead, then," he urged. He sat intently in his chair. 

"Well, I had a nightmare last night. But it seemed so real," I recalled. I clenched my hands again. "And you were in it actually. It was me, you , and-"

"Ken," T.K. finished. He sat forward. 

"How did you know?" I asked. I still clenched my hands. 

"I think I had the exact same dream. I remember hearing you calling my name. I ran and ran, but I couldn't find you. Then finally I did and you were tied on a pedestal."

I didn't say anything. I just stared down at the table trying to let everything sink in. If this means what I think it means.....

"And then when I saved you, we saw Ken there. He told Stingmon to attack Pegasusmon. We fell and I woke up before I hit the ground." T.K. became quiet, trying to think everything over. "I remember waking up hearing Patomon scream my name. He sounded like he was hurt. When I looked at him, he had a wound on his side just like the one Stingmon gave Pegasusmon. I couldn't believe it. I didn't go to sleep again last night."

Tears sprung to my eyes. It was true. Ken was back. 

"T.K. I haven't told anyone this, but the same thing happened to me the first time I had nightmares." 

"Huh? What do you mean?" T.K. asked. 

"Well, I dreamed that Gatomon attacked me with her Lightning Claw and when I woke up, I had a wound just like in the dream." I reached in my pocket. "And I have this." I put his switch blade on the table.

"Where'd you get this from?" he asked. "I couldn't find it this morning!" 

"It's the dream," I replied. I set it down for him. "And when Ken took me prisoner, he told me that he had the power to control dreams. I don't know how, but I never told anyone because we all thought he was destroyed."

We both sat in silence just looking at each other. 

"We have a serious problem here," I finally said. "We have to warn the others."

As we walked back to the cafeteria, I began to think. If the dream was totally true, then that means T.K. was really going to kiss me. I began to blush at the thought as we sat down in the lunch table once again. 

"Hey," Codi said. "Where'd you two go off to?"

"We had a talk," T.K. said. "And we discovered that-"

RING!!!!!

"Darn," T.K. finished. He stood up with the rest of us, gathering his books. "I'll tell you all later. Meeting in the computer lab after school."

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways to class. I, however stood back. I wasn't feeling like going to class now that we found out Ken was back. There was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that threatened to grow. 

"It's just gym class and Algebra I'll be missing. No biggie. Besides my Algebra's already a waste of time. Maybe I should go to summer school." I muttered trying to reassure myself that it would be ok to skip class.

"I need to tell T.K. that I won't be here after school for the meeting." I glanced around as the bell rang. I was alone in the cafeteria and began to walk, thinking of the class he was in now. 

As I passes a class, I saw him sitting attentively as the teacher spoke. When the teachers back was turned, I stuck my head in the class and silently asked him to come here. He looked at me, questioning how he was going to get out of class. 

The teacher turned his back again and I began to walk down the hall way, acting like everything was alright. 

"Mr. Yamaguchi," T.K. said. "May I please have a restroom pass?"

"Ok, but you have to finish the problem before you go."

T.K. looked at the complex math equation on the board. He made a face. "Forty-two?"

"Wrong. Try again."

"Forty-three?"

"No. You can use paper and pencil though."

"But Mr. Yamaguchi, I really have to go." T.K. pleaded. He heard a few giggles as he said this. 

"Alright. I'll give you some slack because you never asked to go to the bathroom before. Here." The teacher bent down and scribbled something on a sheet of paper. 

T.K. stood up and walked out the room.

"What took you so long?" I whispered. 

"I had to solve a complex math problem before I was able to leave. What's up?"

I looked around the hallways and pulled him into an empty classroom. I didn't want his teacher to hear. 

"I just wanted to tell you that I won't be able to go to today's meeting."

"Huh?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

"I-I haven't been feeling good now that we found out Ken is really alive. I'm going to go home." 

"Is your mom picking you up?" he asked, sounding concerned. 

I looked to the side sheepishly. "Uh, no. She kind of doesn't know about it."

"Kari!" He said shocked. "I can't let you go home alone! What if something happens?" He put his hand on my shoulder. This forced me to look up. 

"Nothing's going to happen, T.K.," I said. "Tai's going to be home from school in a little bit anyways. He'll be there." 

T.K. was quiet. He reluctantly agreed. "Alright. But be careful. Don't go to the Digital World.....and try not to fall asleep."

I nodded and put my things in my book bag. "Bye, T.K.," I said strapping my book bag on my shoulders. 

"Bye, Kari," he said. "Oh, and I forgot to do this before," he said. He bent down and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. 

I looked up at him surprised, then we both smiled. 

"Tai?" I asked as I walked through the front door. I took off my shoes and placed them in the coat closet. "Mom?" 

No answer. 

I peeled off my book bag and threw it in the closet along with everything else. My homework could wait. I had more important things to do. 

I walked to the television and turned the channel to the news. I watched as the reporter talked about the shortage of sushi and hot mustard at the local restaurant. I yawned and the next headline caught my eye. 

"Breaking news, everyone. Boy genius Ken Ichijouji who mysteriously disappeared less than a month ago has returned out of thin air."

I grabbed the remote and put the volume louder so I could hear better. They showed Ken sitting at home wrapped in a warm blanket. "I'm just so glad to be home," he said. "It took forever for me to find my way, but it was worth it. Now I can finally be safe." 

"Well what exactly happened?" the reporter asked him, holding the microphone to his face. 

Ken looked down at the floor. "It's really hard to put together. The last thing I remember was that I had soccer practice then walking home. It gets all blurry after that."

The reporter faced the camera. "There you have it," she said. "But what really happened? Could this be a possible sign of kidnapping? Find out tonight at 11 o'clock. Now to find more about that sushi shortage," she said. "Back to you Dan." 

I stared at the television screen speechless. He looked so normal. So innocent. And how did he survive the tunnel collapsing? Did someone help him? Has he been there the whole time? Where-

"Kari?!"

"Agh!" I screamed and spun around. I grabbed the remote and put it on mute. The volume must have been so loud that I didn't hear someone come in. 

"Tai!" I said. "Don't scare me like that!" I slowed my breathing down. For a moment there I thought it was the Digimon Emperor. 

"What are you doing home? Did mom drop you off?" Tai took off his shoes and loosened his tie, sitting next to me on the couch. 

"Not quite," I said. "I wasn't feeling to good in school so I came home. But that's the least of out problems."

Tai grabbed the remote and changed the channel, searching for something to watch. "Anything good on?" He asked completely ignoring me. 

"Tai," I scolded taking the remote from him. I shut the television off. "I have something to tell you and all you can think about is finding something good on TV?"

"Kari, can't it wait? I had a rough day at school and all I want to do is relax. That dumb Sora." He grabbed back the remote and turned it back on.

"Tai, don't you care that something is wrong? And don't call Sora dumb." I stood up angrily. Sometimes he could be so complicated to deal with. I grabbed the remote back and turned it off again. 

"Kari, I just want a break," Tai defended. "Why are you getting so uptight?"

I threw the remote at him. It bounced harmlessly off his chest to the floor.

"Why am I so uptight?" I asked letting my emotions get the best of me. "Well, maybe it's because I'm tired of being a digidestioned. I'm tired of fighting and losing all the time. There's just too much pressure, Tai. And now even my big brother doesn't even care." I struggled to keep my voice from faltering, but it cracked with all the emotion that I always kept inside of me. 

"Kari," he said. 

I didn't say anything. I just walked to my room and slammed the door. 

I sat on the bed and cuddled next to my two sleeping digimon. Well, one was really mine. I cared for the other as if he were my own, though. Then I had a thought. Maybe Ken would want him back. 

"Wormon," I whispered. I shook him a little. 

"Yes, master?" he groaned waking up. He looked up at me realizing who I was. "Oh. Hi, Kari. I was just dreaming." 

I nodded with knowing. Then I began to wonder. "What were you dreaming about?"

"Oh, just about Ken and the Digital World. I had a bad dream last night actually. I was Stingmon though." 

"I know," I said. I gave him a little hug. "You really miss Ken, don't you?" 

Wormon nodded. "With my whole heart." 

I looked at the door. Tai was knocking and asking to talk to me. I didn't say anything to him. "Wormon," I whispered so Tai wouldn't hear. "How would you like to take a little trip?"

"Oh, I'd like that very much. Where are we going? America?" He asked as I put him in my back pack. 

"No. Even better," I whispered back. 

"Goody," he whispered. "But one question. Why are we whispering?"

Locking the door, I walked to the window and looked down. It wasn't very far though we lived in an apartment building. I could climb down the tree. Opening the large window, I walked to the ledge and grabbed a large branch. 

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Wormon said through my book bag. 

I ignored him and continued to climb down. I was almost there. Just a few more feet to-

"Whoa!" I yelped as I lost my footing for a second. I quickly regained my balance and slowed my breathing. "That was close." I took the last hop down from the tree and began to walk to the subway station. 

My next stop was Ken's house. 

"Hi, I'd like to buy a ticket for the subway," I said. 

The man looked at me. "Aren't you a little young to ride the subway all by yourself?" 

I shook my head. "No. I always ride it."

He looked at me as he handed me a two-way ticket. "Here you go," he said cautiously taking my money. 

"Thanks," I said and walked inside. It smelled bad and had trash everywhere. "Ew," I said, pushing away some newspapers so I could sit down. I took my pack off and let Wormon stick his head out so he could breathe. 

"Kari, where are we going?" He asked. 

"Be quiet," I whispered as a few passengers looked at me curiously. I nodded and smiled back at them as if nothing was wrong. 

After they went back to whatever they were doing, I turned to Wormon. "Well, it's supposed to be a surprise, but you should know. I'm taking you back to Ken."

"Ken?" Wormon shouted happily. He jumped in the air and squealed with happiness. "I'm going to see Ken! Yippie!"

"Wormon, quiet!" I whispered furiously as everyone in the passenger car looked at us.

I smiled again, but didn't say anything. 

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I just can't control myself sometimes."

"It's ok," I said glancing up. "Oh, be quiet for a moment. Someone's coming." I stuffed Wormon back in the pack and zipped it. I sat quietly to myself as the person walked towards us. Whoever it was had a hoodie on and I couldn't see his face. He stopped next to my seat and sat down next to me, trapping me next to the window. 

I shifted uncomfortably. There were plenty of empty seats everywhere. Why did they sit next to me?

"Wow, what a nice stuffed animal," he commented. "Can I see it?" 

I began to fidget. "Well, it's supposed to be a present to a friend. I was just going to give it to him."

"Oh," he said. "Well, I guess that present belongs to me then." He took the hoodie off so I could see his face. 

"Ken!" I gasped. I practically fell out of my chair. "I-I was just going to bring Wormon back to you." 

"Thank you, Kari," he said as I took Wormon out of my bag and handed to him. For some reason he didn't sound as thankful when he said it. "Thank you for caring for him while I was.....gone."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. Was I really supposed to say 'your welcome'? It was made apparent that he was being sarcastic. 

"Were you really going to go to my house and give Wormon back?" He asked. 

I looked at him and nodded. "Yes. He had been feeling homesick and when I found out that you were....back, I decided to go to your house to return him." 

"That's taking a real risk," he said quietly. 

"No it's not," I said. "Because you can't hurt me. All I did was something that any other person would do." I twisted and played with the string on my backpack. I hope I sounded as confident as I wanted to be. His presence was making me nervous. 

"I doubt that anyone else would return their enemies property. That just shows that you're-"

"Naive, right?" I finished, feeling a little angry. 

"No. I was going to say one of a kind."

I didn't say anything. His words didn't sound too threatening, but I was never going to trust him again. He was just so manipulative. One second he seemed like a nice guy and then the next he was back as the Digimon Emperor. I learned my lesson a month ago. 

"Final stop. Everyone, this is the final stop. Please depart quickly. I repeat, final stop." 

I gasped and sat up. "Final stop? Doesn't this go back to-"

"No," Ken said. "It stops here. There's another train that would take you back, but it doesn't arrive for another hour or so." 

I looked down at the floor. What was I going to do? Tai would kill me if I called and told him where I was. So would everyone else. I couldn't tell mom, and I didn't know anybody else here except.....

"You can stay at my house until the next train comes," he offered. I looked up at him, confused. One moment he was sarcastic and egotistical, but now he was offering that I could stay over his house? 

I thought for a moment. 

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Kari, I'm not too thrilled about the idea of you coming over my house either, but I can't just let you wander around here all alone." He looked at me and I considered that maybe he really did change. "You could get hurt," he finished darkly. 

Nope, he wasn't a changed kid. But I had nowhere else to go. Maybe I should.....

"Kari, it's not a lot that I offer someone a place to stay." He paused. "Going once, going twice...."

"Alright," I agreed hastily. "When does the next subway car come?"

"At six o'clock." He replied as I stood up. 

I nodded and followed him out of the car. As we walked out into the evening, I felt a draft of cold air go through me. I tugged my jacket closer to my body, but it wasn't the cold air that was making me shiver. 

It was Ken. 

"Tai, go tell Kari that supper is almost ready and I need her to set the table."

"Alright," Tai replied. He got up from his homework and walked to the door. He knocked lightly. She hadn't said a word to him since they got into the argument. He hoped that she got over it. 

"Kari," he said. "Mom wants you to set the table." He waited for her reply. "Kari," he repeated a little more firmly. "Come out. Mom wants you to set the-" Tai paused a little as he felt a slight breeze through the cracks on the door. "Oh, no." Tai said. He grabbed his spare key from his pants and put it in the keyhole. He jiggled it a little and he burst through the door. He wasn't too surprised that Kari wasn't there. What did surprise him was that Wormon was missing too. Tai shut the door and locked it again. He had to make up a lie to tell his mom. He hated to lie to her, but he had to. 

"Here. I'll set the table mom," Tai offered. He grabbed two plates from the cupboard and set them across from each other. Then he grabbed some glasses and chopsticks. 

"What's wrong with Kari?" she asked stirring the rice she was making. She set the large spoon down and leaned against the counter. 

"Uh, she told me that she wasn't feeling too good and that she didn't want to eat just yet." Tai scratched the back of his head. "Girl stuff. You know."

Tai's mom nodded and went back to cooking. 

Tai wiped a bead of sweat off of his forehead. _Where are you, Kari?_

"And I'm holding this meeting because Kari and I have found our some startling news." T.K. announced to the other digidestioned. 

"Where is Kari anyway?" Yolei asked cleaning her glasses. 

"She went home earlier because she wasn't feeling well," T.K. said. "Back to the subject of the matter."

"But Kari _is_ the subject of matter!" Davis said. "Is she alright? Did she stub a toe? Break a nail? Get a concussion?"

"I'm going to give _you _a concussion if you don't let T.K. talk," Yolei said glaring at Davis. 

He let out a little laugh and kept quiet.

"As I was saying," T.K. continued. "Kari and I found out that Ken is alive."

Everyone gasped. "What?" Yolei asked. She wasn't there a month ago when it happened, but Kari told her about it and she wanted to kill him just as much as everyone else did. 

Codi didn't say anything. He grabbed a stick and began to practice his Kindo. His swings were a little more angry, though. 

Davis clenched his fists. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get him!" He couldn't believe that he had been so dumb before. He truly believed that Ken had changed. He knew it in his heart. But there he was becoming the Digimon Emperor over and over. And for his stupid actions, Kari could have been killed. But not anymore. Now he was going to think about other people instead of just himself.

"We can't," T.K. said. "We don't actually know for sure, but we have a pretty good idea that it's true. And something else, he has a new way of attacking us where we are totally defenseless." 

"Well spit it out already!" Codi outburst. 

They all looked at Codi in surprise. He hardly ever got loud with anyone except when he was really mad. I guess this counts as one of those times. 

"He attacks in our dreams."

"Here it is," Ken said.

I looked around. "That's it?" I exclaimed. His house looked really quaint from the outside....nothing like what I imagined it would be like. 

"Didn't know that evil Digimon Emperors had a nice houses, did you?" He joked. He seemed to find this very funny, but I didn't find it humorous at all. 

I followed him inside. 

"Ken, there you are," a woman's voice rang out. "I was getting worried about you. Oh," she said as she saw me. "You brought a friend with you. How nice. Would you like some cookies?" 

I smiled. "Thank you!"

She nodded and went to go get some. She came back with two glasses of milk and set them on the coffee table in the middle of the room. 

I nudged Ken a little. He looked at me confused, then he realized. "Oh. Mom, this is Kari. She'll be here for an hour so she can catch the next subway train."

"It's nice to meet you, Kari," she said.

I nodded and echoed her. 

"Well, please excuse me, but I need to get back to my knitting. Bye!" She turned and left, smiling the whole time. 

"Wow," I said reaching for a cookie. "Your mom's real nice." 

Ken groaned. "Whatever," he said. He stood up and grabbed the plate of cookies and his milk. 

"Where are you going?" I asked looking up at him. 

"Come on, Kari. Let's go to my room. We need to talk." 

I grabbed my milk and followed him. I really didn't think that it would be a good idea. I still didn't trust him. _His parents are here, _I thought. _He wouldn't do anything like try to kill me in his own house. _

He opened his door and walked in. Reluctantly I followed. His room was nothing like I expected. It was neat and well organized. Nothing at all like a Digimon Emperors room. _Oh yeah. Remember that he's a genius too._

He set the cookies on the floor and sat down on his bed. I settled on the floor and sat crossed legged. "What did you want to talk about?" I asked. 

"Just about stuff. I never had anyone to talk to in my life. My parents wouldn't understand and I had nowhere else to go to. So I just balled up and kept to myself all the time." 

"Aw," I said. "It would be nice of you weren't an only child. Then you could have someone to talk to," I suggested. 

He looked at me angrily for a moment, then his face softened up. "I'm not an only child," he said. "Or maybe I should say that I wasn't an only child." 

I instantly knew what he meant. "I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't know."

"Yeah, whatever," Ken said. He grabbed a cookie and dunked it in the milk. 

There was an awkward silence between the both of us. 

"His name was Sam," he said after chewing. 

I nodded, urging him to go on. 

"He was everything I wanted to be when I was little. He was also a genius and he was paraded by the media. I guess wishes do come true because look at me now. I'm just like his shadow." He paused and stared at the wall behind me. 

I glanced back and saw that he was looking at a picture. He looked exactly like Ken. I couldn't believe the resemblance. 

"I guess that some wishes don't come true, though," Ken continued. "Because Sam never came back. He never-" Ken slammed his milk on the table next to him. 

I held my breath. His sudden mood change startled me. "Ken," I said. I stood and put my hand on his shoulder. 

He flinched at my touch and pushed away. "Kari, just leave. I don't have time to be talking to you when I need to be taking over the Digital World." 

"Ken," I repeated. 

"The subway should be there soon. You should start walking." He stood up and held the door open for me. 

I walked out but he grabbed my shoulder so I could turn around. "Sweet dreams," he said evilly. 

__

What just happened back there? I thought as I boarded the subway. I sat down in a seat, troubled by my thoughts. _He opens up to me, telling me something he probably has never told anyone, but then he turns away. I just don't get it. He obviously needs a friend to talk to. Maybe Davis wasn't so wrong before when he said Ken had some good in him. _

"How in our dreams?" Codi asked. He squeezed the base of the wooden weapon he always practiced with. 

"You're joking," Davis said. "No one can attack us in our dreams. That's all in the movies." 

"Davis, shut up!" Yolei said. "Go on, T.K. I want to hear this." 

T.K. nodded. "Well, me and Kari had the exact same dream last night. Everything was exactly the same. And get this, everything that happens in the dream results in the real world."

"How do you mean results?" Yolei asked, leaning forward. 

"Well, we dreamed that Pegasusmon was attacked by Stingmom. Then when I woke up this morning, Patomon had a wound the same way Pegasusmon had in the dream. He had it on the same exact side and place." 

"That's impossible!" Daivs said. 

"Why do you think Patomon didn't come to school with me today? I left him at home so he could rest. And the same thing happened to Kari in one of her first dreams. She said that she was attacked by Gatomons Lightning Claw and when she woke up she had scratches on her from it."

Everyone stayed quiet. 

T.K. went on. "And also I couldn't find my switch blade this morning. I knew I had it with me. I never leave anywhere without it. But then this morning, Kari had it with her. She said that in the dream she had grabbed it when we were pummeling from the sky. Luckily both of us woke up before we were able to ht the ground." T.K. paused to look at everyone's reaction. 

"It has to be the dreams," T.K. said. 

"I know," Yolei muttered a little sadly. She lifted up her shirt sleeves. "I had a dream that Hawkmon attacked me. He left a long scratch behind. Then when I woke up, the same mark was there. I couldn't believe it, but I didn't say anything to anyone. I thought you all would believe I was crazy or something." She out them back down. 

"Now that you mention it," Codi said. "I have been having bad dreams too. But I never got hurt in them like Kari or Yolei. I just dreamed that Armidillomon was being controlled by the Digimon Emperor and he wanted to kill me. I always woke up and saw that he was sleeping right next to me. It was creepy." 

They all looked at Davis. "Nuh-uh," he said. "I haven't had any bad dreams lately." 

They all kept staring. He looked at them then finally gave in. "Actually I did. I had a dream once that Demiveemon, Veemon, Flamedramon, _and_ Raidramon attacked me at once. I woke up right before they could hurt me. I was screaming and then Veemon began screaming then I started wetting the bed." Davis began to suck his thumb and rocking back and forth. 

"Well that does it," T.K said. "We have to stop him somehow. And please, use Pull-ups or something from now on when you go to sleep, Davis." 

As quietly as I could, I climbed back into my bed room, making sure that mom or Tai didn't see me from one of the windows. I saw mom sitting in front of the TV, but I didn't see Tai. He must've been doing his homework. 

I closed the window, placing the curtains the same way they had been. I threw off my jacket and put it on the bed post. 

"Kari."

I jumped and spun around. It was Tai. He was sitting up on his bunk quietly. Almost as if he were expecting me. 

"Tai," I said. "What a surprise." I fidgeted with my camera hanging on my neck. 

"Where have you been?" He asked. 

"Oh," I said, feeling the heat rise to my face. "Now you care?"

"Kari. I have always cared. It's just that I have been having a rough time." 

I didn't say anything. 

"Now are you going to tell me where you've been, or do you want to tell mom?" Tai jumped down from the bed and began to kick his soccer ball. 

I sighed. Either way I lost. 

"What do you want me to start with?" I asked. 

"Start with why you were acting so weird today." 

I took a deep breath. "You're not going to believe this, Tai," I said. "But guess who's back." 

Tai stopped juggling the soccer ball with his feet. I could tell that his face went white. "You don't mean-"

I nodded. 

"But how? How could he-?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. But all I do know is that none of us are safe. He attacks us in out dreams where we're totally defenseless."

Tai's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"That's why I've been having those bad dreams," I said. "He's been controlling them and everything that happens in them happens in the real world."

"How do you know?" he asked. "Is there some kind of proof?"

I nodded. "Gatomon scratched me across my chest in my dream and I have a mark there now." 

Tai gasped. "He has to be stopped then! There's no telling what he could do." 

"I know," I said quietly as I sat down on my bed. "But I don't know if I can do it anymore. I'm tired of thinking we defeated him then all of a sudden he comes back again to try and take the Digital World over again. I'm just tired of losing all the time. I don't think I can take anymore." 

"Kari, don't think like that. If you think like that you'll never win. You have to believe in yourself!"

I pondered his words. They held a lot of truth in them. "We'll stop him somehow," I said, hoping to sound more confident than I really was. 

Tai smiled and nodded. "Good," he said. He continued to juggle the ball with his feet. "So, where did you take Wormon?" he brought up. 

__

Oh. no! I thought. What should I say? "Uh...I.....gave him back to Ken," I said reluctantly. I was beginning to think giving Wormon back to Ken wasn't such a good idea. 

"Ken, your dinners ready if you want to eat, honey." 

"I'm not hungry right now," Ken replied through his door. He sat on his bed, thinking of Kari. He didn't know what was happening, but he was feeling a sort of connection with her. She came over knowing that he was really the Digimon Emperor and yet she still talked to him like he was one of her friends. 

__

How can she act like that when I tried over and over to kill her? I just don't understand her.......oh, stop thinking of nonsense, Ken. It's about time to go and take over the Digital World. 

"I'll see you in the morning, Kari," Tai said. He got into his bunk and covered up.

I stared at the top of his bunk. "Alright," I said. I turned to my side. "I hope so," I muttered under my breath. I cuddled Gatomon to me and closed my eyes. 

"Good night, Yolei," Hawkmon said. He settled himself on the basket that Yolei had made up for him as his bed. She always complained over and over that he just took up too much room on her bed and she needed her space. 

Yolei stared into the darkness. She was too terrified to go to sleep. Especially after she was attacked by Hawkmon in her dreams. Instead of going to sleep, she pulled out a boy magazine and a flash light and began to read. 

"Are you going to sleep, T.K.?" Patamon asked, hovering over him. He was sitting down at his desk in his room.

T.K. shook his head. "I don't know. To be truthful, I'm scared to go to sleep." He opened his Biology book and began to study about the origin of the humpback whale. 

"Armadillomon, can I ask you a question?" Codi asked.

"Shoot, Codi. You know you can talk to me about anything." 

Codi paused for a moment. "You would....never hurt me, would you?"

"Never!" Armadillomon said. "Why would you ask me something like that anyways?"

Codi turned to his side and stared at the blank wall. "No reason. Good night."

"Good night, Codi," Armadillomon said a little sadly. 

Codi pulled the covers up to his chin and struggled to stay awake the whole night. 

"Good night, Davis," June said. She walked out of the living room and into her own, closing the door. 

"Whatever," Davis said. He flipped the channels, trying to find something interesting on so he could stay awake. 

"Davis, aren't you going to go to sleep?" Demiveemon asked climbing on his shoulder. 

"Are you kidding? I don't want to get attacked by you , Veemon, Flamedramon, and Raidramon again! I'm staying up!" Davis flipped through some more stations. "Besides, I don't have anymore clean sheets."

I turned over in bed, trying to get comfortable. For some reason I just couldn't.

"Ouch," I heard from next to me. I glanced at Gatomon. "You're on my tail, Kari," she said sleepily, her eyes barely even open. 

"Sorry," I whispered moving so she could have enough room. She buried her head in my pillow and was fast asleep again. 

I sighed, glancing at the clock. It read three o'clock in the morning. I was really sleepy. I didn't know how much longer I could stay awake. I tried everything to keep me up. I splashed water on my face, I pinched myself until I had red bruises everywhere, and I even dropped an ice cube down my back. It all worked fine, but I ran out of ice cubes and my body was numb from so much pinching and I'm sure that I really brought up moms water bill. 

"I need a drink of juice," I muttered rolling out of bed carefully so Tai wouldn't wake up. I tip toed along the carpet, trying my best to avoid all the creaks. I opened the door and walked to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a jug of juice. I poured it into a glass and sat at the table quietly. The house was so creepy at night. Usually there was always some kind of chaos going on in here. It would either be Tai bouncing his soccer ball off the walls or the fire alarm always going off when mom would burn yet another new recipe she would try out. It was too weird without either of them making noise. 

I took another sip and I began to think of Ken. He seemed so lonely. I'm sure that if just someone could just talk to him, he would change somehow. I saw a side to him that I'm sure no one has. Not even his parents. He acted kind for the first time in his life when he offered to let me stay over his house. 

I glanced at the phone. It was really late, but I needed someone to talk to. 

I stood up and grabbed the cordless phone. I walked outside to the porch and sat down in the swinging bench. Reluctantly, I punched in a few numbers and waited for the phone to ring.

"Hello?" I heard a groggy voice ask. Needless to say, it was a very cranky voice. 

"Hi, Ken. It's Kari." I tugged on my hair a little. Just talking to him made me nervous, but I had to. 

"Kari?" I could hear the surprise in his voice. "What do you want?"

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. "I want to talk. I need to talk."

I could hear him groan. "Then why don't you call one of your other friends? I'm pretty sure that they're all awake at this time." 

I didn't respond to what he said. "Ken, I want to talk to you."

Ken paused. "Oh, alright. Meet me in the Digital World." 

"Huh?" I asked. "I didn't want to-why can't we meet somewhere in the real world?"

"We either talk there or no place at all." 

I paused. "No, Ken. Can't we just talk here?"

"Nope. I'll be in the Digital World. If you're not there in ten minutes, I'm going straight back to bed."

"Well, you could just go back to bed," I said and hung up the phone. I could feel myself begin to grow angry. "Why did I even call him?" I asked myself, staring off in the sky. The stars were bright tonight. So bright that the whole sky was illuminated even with the quarter moon. 

I stood up and walked back to my room once again being careful not to wake Tai. I sat down on my bed and thought for a moment trying to get everything together. If I went to the Digital World, there is no telling what Ken would do. 

I looked at my computer. I could go so easily. Just a few words and I was there. "No," I muttered looking at the clock. Five minutes had already past since I called Ken. I had another five minutes to decide if I wanted to go or not. Sighing, I stood up and walked over to the computer. I moved the mouse a little and the computer turned off it's stand by mode. The bright screen illuminated the whole room with an eerie glow. I stared at the screen. It was now or never. 

Holding my digivice up to it, I whispered "Digiport open," and I was transported to the Digital World. 

"Huh?" Tai woke up as the bright light blinded him through his eye lids. He looked at the computer and saw that the Digiport was activated. "Kari!"

I groaned as I landed on grassy field. I stood up carefully and looked around. It looked pretty deserted. To make things worse, it was dark and I couldn't see anything. I squinted my eyes. Where was Ken?

"You're here," a voice said. I spun around to see Ken sitting in the tall grass waiting patiently. I noticed that he wasn't in his Digimon Emperor outfit either. "I knew you would be," he added. 

I didn't say anything. I just sat down in the grass, keeping a little distance between us. Just in case. 

"You don't have to stay that far back," Ken said. "I won't bite you." 

I shook my head. "And how many times have you lied to me? Don't you think that I learned my lesson on not believing everything you said?" 

"Apparently not. You're here right now, aren't you?" He patted the spot next to him, urging me to sit there. 

I shook my head. "I just want to talk. We didn't have enough time to talk earlier today." I picked at some of the grass. 

Ken just nodded. He didn't even say anything. 

I sat there enveloped in this awkward silence. I had to break it. 

"Ken," I said. I sat down next to him, getting his attention. "I know that you're not what you say you are."

Ken just laughed, not surprised at my straightforwardness. "Oh, really? And how do you know that?" He kept his eyes on me. 

I pulled some of the grass out of the ground and threw it a little. "Because somebody that was truly evil wouldn't be so passionate about their brother the way you were today." 

Ken didn't say anything. He just looked away. 

I took a breath and continued. "I know that you're really good. I know it."

Ken snapped his head towards me suddenly, making me jump a little. "Oh, really Kari. How many times have you said that just to be proved wrong? Don't you remember what happened a month ago? I almost killed you and your friends. And nothing would stop me in killing you now."

"If you really wanted to, you would have done it already," I retorted. I held my breath as the words left my mouth. I knew that it wasn't good to provoke him, but the words left my mouth before I could even think on what to say. 

He didn't say anything. He just turned his face.

"Ken, why are you doing this?" I asked. "Do you feel that you have to prove something by acting this way? There are better ways to prove things other than trying to rule over one world that you don't even understand."

"Do you understand it, Kari?" He asked. His tone was soft now. He sounded as if he sincerely wanted to know. 

"No," I said. "I don't understand this world or even our own. I don't understand why things happen the way they do, but I believe that they happen for a reason."

Ken looked up, his eyes flaring with anger. "And can you tell me the reason that Sam was killed? Can you tell me the reason that my only brother was taken away from me and my parents? Do you believe it happened for a reason?"

I swallowed, trying to cure my dry mouth. "I don't know why it happened and I don't know the reason, but everything happens for a cause. Maybe it was a wake up call for you and your parents. Maybe you just didn't appreciate life the way you're supposed to." 

Ken totally surprised me with a slap across the face. I stumbled back a little, stunned. I brought a hand to the burning sensation that stung my face.

"How dare you say that," Ken said. He turned his back to me. 

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves and the adrenaline flowing through me. I put my hand down and sat back. 

"I almost died once when I was little," I said. I hoped he was listening to this. I wasn't just saying this for fun and I hardly told anyone anything personal. 

Ken stiffened a little. 

"I had a fever and I stayed home from pre-school. Tai came home, wanting to play soccer. He didn't want to leave me alone either, so he took me outside so I could play with him." I looked at the starry sky. It was nothing like the sky at home. This sky was blue, purple and pink all at once. It was a beautiful sight and I almost lost myself in it. I hurried to continue on. "He was teaching me how to kick a soccer ball when I collapsed. I went to the hospital and I was there for a few days so they could get my fever down. Well, when I got home, Tai felt so guilty. He blamed himself for it and he was scared to play with me again. He thought that if he did then he'll cause me to get sick again. After that, he was so protective of me. He wouldn't even let me go down the street without him being with me."

"Kari," Ken interrupted. "Is there supposed to be a point to this story?"

I sighed. "Yes, Ken. I'm just saying that everything happens for a reason. Tai blamed himself for being selfish and in result, he thinks more about other now. He doesn't act selfish anymore. If he did, then the previous digidestioned would have never saved the Digital World."

"So what? You're telling me that Sam died because I was too selfish?"

"No," I said. "But if you keep acting selfish the way you are now, then other people may die." 

Ken stared at the ground. "Kari, you just don't understand. When Sam died, I was so expected to be just like him. I felt guilty that I wasn't a genius the way he was. So I tried every single day. I taught myself to read and count when he first died. By the time I was in the first grade, I was reading at a high school level. I forced myself to read college material when I was in the fifth grade. I barely understood it, but I kept trying until I did. Now finally, I am his shadow. I felt I had to be since I was the one who killed him."

I held a hand up to my mouth and gasped. "Ken, you didn't really kill him."

"Yes, I did!" Ken shouted, slicing through the quiet air. "It was my fault he died....."

__

Flashback.

"Sam, you wanna come play with me?" Three year old Ken asked his older brother asked. He sat in the grass and held up one of his toys to his brother. 

Sam didn't glance up. He was buried into his book. "No, Ken. I'm studying now. I'll play with you later." 

Ken felt a little hurt, but then his neighbors dog came running up to him. 

"Hi, doggy," Ken said. He petted the dog behind it's ears. His tail swung back and forth, showing that he was happy. 

"Look, Sam!" Ken exclaimed. "Look at the doggie wag his tail!" Ken tried to grab it playfully.

"That's nice," Sam said not looking up. 

"Dodger! Come here Dodger!" 

The dog looked up and his ears perked up at his masters voice. He looked back at Ken, gave him a lick on the face, then began to run across the street to his owner. 

"Doggy! Come back!" Ken stood up and wobbled after the dog. "Come back!"

Sam looked up now. He knew that Dodger lived across the street and that Ken always liked to chase after him across the yard. To his horror, Ken was chasing him across the street. 

"Ken!" Sam screamed. He dropped his books to the ground and ran into the street and grabbed Ken. He picked him up and gave him a small hit on his hand. "You know better than going across the street like that!" 

Ken gave out a little yelp as he felt Sam slap him. He didn't cry though. Instead, he pointed. "A car!" He cried happily. "Maybe it's mama." 

Sam turned around to see a speeding car race towards them. It was close and racing even closer. Sam tried to run out of the cars path, but it caught him on his legs. 

"Sam!" Ken cried as his brother threw him to the grassy sidewalk. He watched as his brother flipped over the car, hitting his head against the windshield, shattering it. 

The car screeched to a stop and the driver looked back. 

"Oh, my God," he said, slurring his words. Instead of getting out of his car, though, he put the car into gear and sped off. 

__

End Flashback. 

"The driver was never found." Ken said. He looked up at the sky. "No one was blamed or even put in jail for Sam's death, so I blamed myself. My parents missed him so much. They cried everyday and sometimes they wouldn't even talk to me, so I knew that they blamed me too. Then everyday, I began to act a little more like Sam. It brought my parents so much joy and me so much pain, but it felt good to see them smile." Ken sniffed a little and I knew that he was crying too. "Sam always used to tell me a story about a person who discovers a new world and takes over it. He became their Emperor. So when I first received my digivice and went to the Digital World, I couldn't believe that there was actually a new world. A new place that didn't have any rules or a law to stand by. It was his favorite story, so I thought that I would make him happy by making it come true." 

I sniffed as I listened to the story. It was truly a tragedy. I never knew....

"Ken," I said, my voice cloudy with emotion. I put my hand on his shoulder. 

Instead of brushing me off, Ken turned towards me and wrapped his arms around me. He put his head on my shoulder and began to sob, letting out all of his pain and sorrow that he held inside for so long. Much like me. 

I began to cry harder too. Just seeing him in so much pain made me feel sorry for him and his brother. It made me feel sad the way he had to feel that he needed to become Sam in order to be loved by his parents. 

"Kari," Ken choked out between his sobs. "I'm sorry. It's just that-I have always felt that I needed to fulfill out Sam's dreams and this is one of them. I-I didn't want it to go this far." 

I stroked his blue hair and nodded. "It's ok, Ken. I believe you." This time, I was sure that he was telling the truth. 

"Kari!" Tai yelled at me as I went back through the Digiport. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me roughly, trying to get some sense into me. "Why did you go to the Digital World? You know that you could have been hurt. Especially without Gatomon. You're the one that is warning everyone about Ken hurting someone, but then you go to a place where you're most vulnerable. Don't you ever think?"

I pushed him away. "Tai, please. You have to listen to me. I know that you're probably not going to believe, but I ask that you do. Promise me that you'll believe me." 

Tai didn't say anything. 

"Please," I practically begged. 

"I promise," he said quietly. 

"Ken is good." I said. 

Tai took a step back. "What?"

"Ken is good," I repeated. "I just know it this time. I have seen a side to him that no one ever bothered to look for in his life." 

"Kari, you're crazy! How are you going to tell me less than a day ago that Ken is pure evil then change your mind?"

"Because he told me!" I said. "He told me everything. About why he became the Digimon Emperor and why he is trying to drive us away." 

Tai widened his eyes. "Is that why you were in the Digital World? To see _Ken?!_"

I nodded. "Yes. We talked and he confessed everything to me. You have to believe me!" 

"No, Kari. He didn't tell you the truth. He tricked you! Don't you see that you're the easiest out of all the Digidestioned to believe something someone tells you? He told you that because he knew you would believe him."

I took a step back. He was actually saying that I was the most gullible out of all the digidestioned. "Tai," I said quietly. "I don't know why I thought you would believe me. I guess that I really am gullible for believing that you cared." Angrily, I grabbed my covers and pillow and walked out of the room. If I was going to go to sleep, it wasn't going to be with him in the same room. 

"Kari," Tai said. "Don't leave. Come back in here. I'll go sleep in the living room." He followed me, but I just threw my pillow on the couch and laid there. 

"Leave me alone," I said. I covered up and closed my eyes. 

"Kari," Tai said defeated. 

I ignored him, pretending that I didn't even hear him. 

"I'm sorry, Kari. I didn't mean to hurt you, but I needed to get through to you somehow." Tai sat in the chair across from where I was laying. 

"Why did you need to get through to me?" I asked out of nowhere startling him. "Because you think I'm wrong? How come it is whenever I try to speak my mind and defend what I believe in, no one believes me? Am I that credulous that no one believes me anymore? That's why I never express my opinion: because no one is going to believe me anyways. What's the point?" I turned so that my back was facing him. 

Tai didn't say anything as he walked back to his room, shutting the door quietly. 

When he was gone, I sat in silence for a second, then I began to cry. 

"I didn't get any sleep at all," Yolei said. She slouched over the table and yawned. "I stayed up all night scared that Ken was going to get into my dreams again." 

Everyone else agreed. 

"I stayed up all night too," Codi said. "I was just too scared to go to sleep."

"Me too," T.K. said. "I stayed up all night studying for the Biology test that I had. I hoped I passed it with all that studying I did."

"That is so cool that a guy can admit that he was scared through the night," Yolei said. "What about you, Davis? Davis?" Yolei looked at him. He was fast asleep at the lunch table. 

"Aww," she said. "He looks like such a baby when he sleeps." 

"He looks like a baby all the time," T.K. joked. 

"What about you, Kari?" Codi asked. "You've been awfully quiet this whole time." 

"Yeah," T.K. agreed. "Everything alright?" 

I didn't say anything. I knew they were expecting for an answer, but I didn't have one. 

Thankfully the bell rang.

"Shut the alarm clock off, mom!" Davis yelled over the bell. 

"Thank God schools finally out for the day," Yolei said yawning and stretching. "Now I can go home and get some sleep.....wait. Forget it." She groaned with the realization that she couldn't go to sleep. 

"Bye, guys," I said as I walked in the direction of my house. I didn't even look at them. 

"Bye," Yolei, Davis, T.K. and Codi said. 

I crossed the street after the cars went by and it was clear. 

"Kari!" A voice called. 

I spun around to see someone running towards me. At first I thought it was Joe. He had blue long hair. But when he got closer, I realized that it was Ken. 

"Ken," I said when he got closer. "What are you doing here?" I snuck a peek at my friends hoping that they weren't seeing me talking with Ken. If they did I would have a whole lot of explaining to do that I didn't want to. 

They were staring straight at me, mouths hanging open. 

"I wanted to talk to you," he said, ignoring my friends and their stares. "You're the only person that would actually talk to me, you know. Even at my school kids don't talk to me because they feel intimidated." 

I looked back at my friends for a second. "All right," I said. "Let's go to the park. It's real nice there and it's quiet." 

Ken nodded and we both began to walk down the street. 

I just knew that my face was red with embarrassment. 

"What in the world is she doing!?" Davis exclaimed. He felt like chasing after her and tell her to get away from that creep. 

"I don't know," Codi said. "But I don't like it. Maybe we should tell Tai?"

T.K. nodded. "Codi and Yolei, can you go and tell Tai that Kari is with Ken. Davis and I are going to go follow them so that nothing happens." 

Yolei and Codi nodded and ran as fast as they could to Kari's house. 

__

What is she doing with him? T.K. thought as he and Davis made there way behind Kari and Ken. 

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked. The both of us sat down leaning against a large tree. 

"Well, remember how we were talking about everything happening for a reason yesterday?" 

I nodded. 

"Well, I just wanted to talk more about that. All last night I just kept thinking about it. I tried to figure what my destiny is."

"Well, Ken. Sometimes people never find out what their destiny is. They just overlook it or they don't understand it. It's good that you're thinking about it. Most people don't take enough time to actually sit down and thing about those kinds of things. So don't be discouraged if you can't come up with the answers right away."

Ken nodded. "Thank you, Kari. Thanks for everything. Just for being there and talking to me. Most people wouldn't think that a well-known boy like me needs someone to talk to."

I nodded and smiled. "You're welcome. Believe me, I go through the same thing all the time." 

"Really?" Ken sounded surprised. "I never knew that you would need somebody to talk to. You have so many friends."

I looked at the ground. "Yeah, but I can't really relate to them. I never talked to them like the way I talked to you yesterday."

There was a pause. 

"And did you relate to me?"

I nodded. "You're the only other person that I know that is almost exactly like me. We both have buried our feelings down in ourselves. I find it kind of nice that I'm not alone anymore." 

Ken didn't say anything. Instead, he inched a little closer to me. He stared me straight in the eyes. Something about his eyes were drawing me closer to him. The color that they were. That had to be it. Instead of the usual blue color, they were transforming into a dark burgundy. Then they turned to a bright red. They were so...hypnotizing. 

"Hey, Kari!" a familiar voice called. "Get away from that loser!" 

I flinched and broke out of my trance. T.K. and Davis were running to catch up with us. When they reached us, they were both out of breath. I glanced back at Ken. He seemed...irritated to have been interrupted and his eyes had turned back to his original color. 

"Kari, come on. We have to leave," T.K. said. He grabbed my arm gently, hoping to pull me to safety. 

I pulled away, feeling some strange sort of resentment towards him. Davis too. "T.K., you have no right to tell me that I have to leave. I'm not going anywhere." I crossed my arms and glared at him. _What's wrong with me?_ I thought to myself. _Why am I getting angry with T.K.? He's just looking out for what's best for me. I feel sort of strange...as if something's inside of me..._

T.K. was taken aback for a second. "Kari," he urged. "We have to leave. Why are you even here with Ken? You know first hand what he can do to you and to the rest of us."

'T.K.-" I started.

"They're right," Ken said, turning his back to me. "Just leave. You don't want to get hurt."

"Ken," I said, but he already started walking off. 

"And next to going to the Digital World alone, that was the most irresponsible thing that you have ever done!" Tai yelled at me. He paced the room back and forth, trying to think of other things to say.

I didn't say anything at all. I knew that what I did was a bit irresponsible, but it was already done and I couldn't do anything to change it. I clutched Gatomon a little closer to me. 

"You are so lucky that mom doesn't know anything about this because she would freak out so bad. More than me!"

I finally looked at him for the first time since he started lecturing me. 

"You know what, Tai?" I asked. I could feel myself begin to lose control of myself. Almost the same way I felt myself losing control with T.K. It wasn't a feeling that I liked. Still, I continued on without even thinking. "I'm sure she would freak out. But don't you think she would freak out even more if she knew that we were keeping this secret from her for so long? She thought that after we went to the digital world the first time that it was over. Now here we are, putting our lives in danger everyday. I think that she has the right to know what's going on in her children's lives, don't you?"

Gatomon jumped off of my lap and backed away, shocked. "Kari," she started.

Tai's face went pale. "You wouldn't."

I stood up and felt my heart begin to race. It felt as if something was growing inside of me. Something that was about to take control of my body and mind completely. "Tai, I am getting so sick and tired of being a digidestioned. All the responsibilities we have to do day in and day out. It's getting to the point where I am so drained that I don't think I can do it anymore. I'm getting to the point where I don't want to do it anymore." _What are you saying? You can't want to quit. You're not a quitter!_

"Kari, you can't be saying that you want to quit being a digidestioned!" Gatomon cried out. She ran towards me and tried to touch me with her paw. "You can't! Don't you know how many people you're letting down? Don't you know that you'd be letting me down?"

"I don't care!" I shouted. I bent down and shoved Gatomon away from me. She landed in a heap of old dirty clothes. "I don't care if I'm being let down by other people because they have all let me down too. Even if they don't realize it. I hate them all and I hate you too!" _What are you talking about? You don't hate Gatomon or Tai or the others. They've always been here to help you. You don't know what you're talking about!_

Tai looked at me alarmed. I know what he must have been thinking. "Kari, you don't know what you're talking about. What's wrong with you? Why did you hurt Gatomon!" Tai walked towards me, reaching out his hand to my shoulder. 

As his skin touched mine, I flinched and pulled away, glaring at him evilly. "Don't you dare touch me, you washed up digidestioned."

Tai pulled back and took a few steps backwards. "Kari, what?"

__

What am I doing?! What am I saying?!

I clutched my head as I felt my mind being torn into two. For some reason, the unreasonable side of me was pushing all my logic away. It was forcing the old me in the back of my heart. I fell to the ground and began to breathe heavily. 

"Kari!" Tai yelled. He ran over towards me and bent down. "Are you alright?"

I shook my head. I felt a wave wash through me and I was back to normal. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked over at Tai. 

"What's wrong, Tai?" I asked him, standing up shakily. He looked extremely concerned. 

He also stood up. "You-you mean you don't remember anything that just happened?"

I sat down on my bed and struggled to remember. "No, Tai," I said slowly, trying to figure everything out. "What did I do?" I looked over at Gatomon. She was laying in the my clothes. "Gatomon...are you alright? I thought I told you not to play in the clothes." I walked over to her and picked her up out of it. 

Gatomon and Tai shared a look. 

"What? Did-did I do something?"

Tai shook his head. "No. It's just that you were about to tell me something, but I guess you forgot it. Oh well. Let's go eat dinner. Mom'll have a fit if we don't get to the dinner table according to her watch." 

I nodded. It was true. "Alright. You go and I'll be there in a minute."

Tai nodded and left.

I sat down on my bed and closed my eyes. _What _was _happening to me? Am I going crazy or something? Why did I hurt Gatomon? I hate lying to Tai sometimes, but I have to. If I told him that I remembered everything that just happened, he would want some answers and I don't even have any. But I think I know where I can get some..._

"Kari, are you sure you're alright?" Gatomon asked. 

"You bet, Gatomon," I said trying my best to smile as easily as I could. "And don't worry, I'll bring you some table scraps so you can feast off of one of moms new recipes." 

"Mom, may I be excused from the dinner table so I can do my homework?" Tai asked politely. 

I rolled my eyes. _Watch TV is more like it,_ I thought. 

"Sure, Tai."

Tai got up from the table and sauntered to his room where he would most likely being watching the TV. As soon as he closed the door, I could hear the theme music from his favorite show playing. 

"So Kari," mom said. "Speaking of school, I got a call from one of your teachers the other day again. Are you having any trouble?"

I looked up from the mashed sardines and potatoes mom had cooked. One of her latest recipes. "No, mom. I'm just fine. I just haven't been able to concentrate as much as I like to when it comes to school. That's all."

Mom put her fork down and looked over at me concerned. "I'm worried about you. You haven't been able to sleep for such a long time and your eating habits have changed. Do you need to talk to someone? Like professionally?"

That stopped me. "Professionally? You mean like a psychologist?"

Mom nodded and smiled. "Sure. It's just someone to talk to so you can get things off your chest. I think it might be a good idea."

My blood began to boil. I could feel that something forcing out of me. That irrational part of me pushing through. I took a deep breath. I needed to calm down. 

"No, mother," I said as best as I could. "Everything is alright with me and if I wanted to talk to someone, I would just talk to my friends or I could talk to Tai." I stuffed a forkful of mashed sardines and potatoes in my mouth to keep from saying anything else. 

Mom picked up her fork once again and continued to eat. "Alright. It was just Tai's idea. He thought something was wrong with you." 

"Tai?" I asked. _What is that boy thinking?_ "Oh, I have a feeling that things will be clearing up pretty soon."

"Good night, Kari."

I scoffed and pulled the blankets up closer to my chin. I wasn't talking to this kid no matter what. I couldn't believe that he actually suggested to mom that I needed help.

"Kari, I said good night. Aren't you going to say something back?"

I rolled over to my side, trying my best to ignore him. 

"Kari,"

"What's your problem, Tai?" I asked suddenly. I had to know.

There was a pause. "What do you mean?"

"About me needing professional help? Where do you go telling mom that I'm going crazy or something?"

Tai sighed. "Kari, you _have_ been acting strange lately. I'm beginning to think that being a digidestioned may have been too much for you to handle. Maybe you do need to talk to someone."

I closed my eyes, feeling suddenly sleepy. "Tai, just shut up. You think I have no idea what I'm talking about, but it's clearly you who has no idea. Do you realize how dumb you sound now?"

There was a moment of silence. "Kari," Tai said quietly. "Ken's only tricking you."

My eyes snapped open. "What?"

"He's tricking you. He's not good and he'll never be good. Can't you see that? I don't know what's wrong with you, but I have a feeling that Ken has something to do with it." I could hear Tai roll over in his bed, indicating to me that this conversation was over. 

I closed my eyes once more and felt a tear trickle down my cheek. 

__

So do I.

__

"Kari."

Huh?

"Kari."

Where am I?

"Come closer to me."

I opened my eyes. Ken stood right in front of me, fully clothed in his Digimon Emperor outfit. 

"Join me in my quest. Help me defeat the other digidestioned!"

"Never!" I shouted angrily. "I will never hurt my friends."

There was a loud cackle from him. "You won't hurt your friends? What happened to you hating them? Didn't you say that while arguing with your brother yesterday? That you hate them all?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "No. I didn't mean it. Something else was forcing me to talk that way. And I have a feeling it's you!" 

Ken just laughed. "You think figured it out, eh? Well, you don't even know what I have in store for you." Ken lifted his hand and I began to float in the air. He gestured me to come near him and I did. 

"Stop it!" I shouted. "Don't do this!" I struggled against the unknown force that had me under it's control. It was useless. There wasn't any way I was going to win. 

"That's right, Kari. So why don't you just give up now?" 

As I floated nearer to him, I saw that his eyes had turned a bright red again. Exactly the same as the day in the park. "Look into my eyes," Ken chanted. 

"No!" I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head away. "Leave me alone!"

"Oh, Kari. Didn't you just say that it was useless to try and struggle. You had the right idea when you thought of quitting."

I shook my head. "No! I'll never quit. As long as I'm alive, I'll never surrender to you!"

Ken crossed his arms and brought his face down close to mine, whispering in my ear. "Well, we're just going to have to do something about that, right?"

I opened my eyes, startled. 

Big mistake. 

His red eyes drew me closer, deeper into his soul. Keeping me in his trance. 

"You have to understand that everyone has evil in them. Everyone has the same amount of evil, but they just force it away. I am here to unlock the evil in your heart. I'm here to make you mine. To make you my slave."

My head began to spin. As I peered into Ken's soul, I could see all the pain that he had burrowed inside. I could see the anger of having to live in his brother's shadow and the need to be the best. It sickened me, but I had no control anymore. I could feel the coldness of Ken's heart washing over me-controlling me.

"No!" I screamed out. I struggled to get away, but Ken had grabbed my arms to keep me still. 

"Let me go! I'll never be as evil as you!" My efforts began to weaken as the blackness crept up on my slowly. "You...you can't do...this." My head slumped over to my chest and I breathed heavily. I felt a newness in me. Something that was quite disturbing, but overpowering at once. I liked it. 

"Done," Ken said. 

I lifted my head to look in Ken's eyes. I suddenly understood him more than ever before. I knew why he did the things he did. It was because of this evil. This evil that feels so good inside. It gives us so much power. 

"So, Kari. What is the first thing you're going to do with your new powers?"

I smiled a bit as I thought of my task. This was going to be fun. 

"Destroy the Digidestioned." 

A.N.: Hehe. This was a bit more funner than the other one because I got to play with the characters a bit and make Kari look like such a dummy. Sure, I like Kari, but who would actually go and save the same guy who she was trying to kill? I don't know where I get these ideas from. Anyways, it's been so many MONTHS since I actually wrote anything. My internet is down and it still is. I have to post my writings via library or friend's houses. Oh well. Hope I can get my internet back soon. In the mean time, R&R! I'll be checking up from time to time. 


End file.
